WINNIPEG – The Assiniboine Park Conservancy (APC) announced they will permanently remove all single use plastic straws and single use plastic bags.

Starting Sunday, July 1, single use plastic straws will no longer be available at all food and beverage venues in Assiniboine Park including The Park Café (Qualico Family Centre), the Tundra Grill and seasonal concessions at the Zoo, and at catered events hosted at the Park’s event venues. Biodegradable paper straws will be provided if required or requested. At APC’s retail outlets in the Zoo, customers will be encouraged to bring their own reusable shopping bags. Reusable bags are also available for purchase.

“This is an amazing commitment and a fantastic opportunity to initiate cultural change within our organization and actively demonstrate how small efforts can have big impacts when we work together,” said Dustin Karsin, Head, Environment & Sustainability, Assiniboine Park Conservancy.

According to a 2018 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on ‘SINGLE-USE PLASTICS: A Roadmap for Sustainability’:

• Since the 1950s, the production of plastic has outpaced that of almost every other material.
• Much of the plastic we produce is designed to be thrown away after being used only once. As a result, plastic packaging accounts for about half of the plastic waste in the world.
• Only nine per cent of the nine billion tonnes of plastic the world has ever produced has been recycled. Most ends up in landfills, dumps or in the environment.
• Most plastics do not biodegrade.

“When it comes to making lifestyle changes to reduce your impact on the environment, it can be difficult to know where to start, but there are many simple actions people can take,” said Karsin. “Using reusable shopping bags or bins and refusing single use plastic straws is a great place to start.”