Engagement Findings

We wish to thank all of our participants for their valuable comments on St Albert’s single use item reduction strategy and their ideas on the role the city, its residents, and its businesses can play to help reduce our single use. The Single Use Item Reduction Strategy page received 225 total visitors, 59 survey participations (56 in the survey for residents, and 3 in the survey for businesses) and 1 ideas contribution.

This summary information is intended to provide a high-level summary of the overall themes of the input from participants. Readers should not assume that numbers are statistically representative, nor that the opinions reflect the majority viewpoint belonging to the community.

What we Heard

The Survey for residents involved questions that asked St. Albert residents about the single use items that they commonly use, barriers and concerns to reducing single use items, and the methods that should be implemented to reduce single use items. The majority of participants agreed that some or all of items (check-out bags, straws, takeout containers, to-go drink cups, and utensils) should be targeted in the reduction strategy. The most common answer was check-out bags. Other responses suggested limiting the amount of plastics used in the packaging of produce in grocery stores. The main barriers that would prevent residents from using re-usable or bring your own (BYO) items is that it is forgetting to bring their reusables, and it is difficult to change their habits. Finally, the reduction methods that the participants were most in support of for the targeted single use items was fee for use and discount for BYO.

The Survey for business owners was comprised of questions that asked business owners if their business provides single use items, any barriers or concerns for reducing single use items, and how much time they would need to phase out/ reduce their inventory of single use items. Two out of the three business responded that they provide single use items. Their main concerns for reducing single use items in their businesses were costs associated and cleanliness.

The contributor to the ideas tool suggested the ban of Styrofoam takeout containers and put it into effect within a short time frame (within 6 months). As an alternative, they suggested that business should offer 100% compostable takeout containers.

What’s Next?

This summer, during City-led cleanups, we will be tracking the prevalence of single use items as litter. We will use this information, along with the information provided during this to bring forward a plan to Council in late 2022.