Ban on most single-use plastics in effect when Fredericton night market opens for season

A popular outdoor market in Fredericton will be largely ditching plastics when it opens for the season next week.

The city of Fredericton is imposing a ban on most single-use plastic products at the Garrison Night Market, which will see the north end of Carleton Street taken over by food, craft and art vendors every Thursday until September.

"This year, the Garrison Night Market is starting to shift away from single-use plastic packaging and take-away containers, taking steps eventually toward zero plastic waste," said Jillian Hudgins, environmental strategist and program manager with the city, which organizes the market.

"So customers at the night market will see more paper and more reusable options for the take-away containers, and they will also see a lot of marketing around the encouragement to bring their own bags, their own water bottles, cutlery, multi-use items, instead of using the single-use items previously provided."

The ban will prohibit vendors from using plastic for shopping bags, food containers, cutlery, straws and other wraps and containers used for baked goods, desserts and artisan products.

Jillian Hudgins, environmental strategist for the city of Fredericton, says she hopes patrons also help with the effort to reduce waste by bringing their own containers if they plan to purchase food. (Submitted by Jillian Hudgins)

Not on the list for now are drink containers and bubble tea straws, though Hudgins said the plan is to include them in the ban next year.

Other single-use plastics used in the packaging for dairy, meat and seafood will not be subject to the ban due to food safety reasons, Hudgins said.

The ban will also not apply to resealable plastic containers.

Reducing landfill waste

The plastics ban at the market is one initiative the city is pursuing as part of efforts to reduce the amount of waste that gets dumped at the landfill, Hudgins said.

She said over the past 10 years, the city hasn't seen much change in the amount of waste that's diverted away from the landfill via its recycling and yard waste programs.

Despite efforts to encourage more recycling over the years, the amount of waste diverted from the landfill through recycling has only increased slightly, according to data from the city of Fredericton. (Shane Fowler/CBC)

According to data on the city's website, about 1.6 tonnes of material was recycled in 2023, compared to 1.3 tonnes in 2015. Meanwhile, the amount of waste that ended up in the landfill rose slightly from 12.2 tonnes in 2015 to 13.4 tonnes in 2023.

According to information provided with the data, the amount of waste generated per person in the city has decreased slightly since 2007, however, recycling per person has also decreased since 2007.

The city's efforts to curb the use of single-use plastics comes as the federal government implements regulations aimed at reducing the country's plastic waste down to zero by 2030.

Canadians throw away more than four million tonnes of plastic waste every year, according to Ottawa. Only nine per cent is recycled, with the bulk ending up in landfills.

Education, not fines

Hudgins said staff with the city's tourism department informed vendors about the plan to ban plastics at the market last year.

She said vendors have received the initiative well, with city staff doing what they can to help them find alternatives to plastic products.

"It's not a bylaw and ... no fines will be issued [if vendors violate the ban], but there will be staff working with vendors, raising the level of awareness, bringing other options to the table that they could be using," she said.

To help with the awareness and education campaign, the city will be tapping into a $15,000 grant from the provincial government's Environmental Trust Fund, Hudgins said.

Some of that money will also be used to buy a cardboard recycling bin and to pay to have that material picked up from the market, she said.

"A lot of the garbage generated from the vendors is cardboard and completely recyclable, but to this date it has been going to the landfill," she said.

"So diverting a lot of that vendor-generated garbage through a cardboard recycling bin would help us as well meet our metrics towards waste diversion and reduction."