Montreal mayor Valerie Plante says her administration is taking steps to cut the use of single-use plastics and other kinds of waste in the city.
The city's environment department is formulating rules aimed at cutting the use of single-use items — including plastic utensils and straws, foam and other kinds of wasteful food packaging, and coffee cups — and it wants those items banned or strictly limited by 2020.
The city will hold public consultations in the meantime, to sort out precisely how those rules would work.
Also in the meantime, the city is asking people to start changing their habits, for the sake of the environment.
Plante says those kinds of single-use items, particularly plastics, can be used for a few minutes, but they can spend decades, if not centuries, languishing in landfills.
"The time where we put off until later decisions in favor of environmental protection, because they involve changing people's habits, is over," the mayor said in a statement released on Wednesday. "Our time is limited and we need to act now. In making strong moves like this, we are making sure we do our part to give a healthy city over to future generations."
The statement notes that the city of Vancouver, for instance, has already taken similar steps to cut waste production.