Councillor proposes ban on
single-use plastics

> Motion inspired by similar undertaking in Victoria

Jillian McMullen
Staff Writer

 

orrie Williams, a New

Westminster city councillor,
wants to see fewer plastic bags
and straws end up in landfills.

Williams tabled a motion during
a city council meeting February 19
which would ban the sale and use of
single-use plastic items such as plastic
bags and take-out containers by 2019.
That motion was later amended to
direct City staff to explore options
for plastic waste reduction.

The motion comes in light of
the Greater Vancouver Sewerage
and Drainage District approving
a recommendation to determine
ways of reducing plastic waste.

Williams said she was inspired
by the City of Victoria, which recently
put forward a similar motion.

“I was quite moved by the fact that
Victoria had done the same thing,” she
said during the council meeting. “They
are being taken to court and challenged
by the plastic [industry] people.”

While she would like to
see a reduction in plastic items,
Williams promised that her motion
would not be an outright ban.

“I think that in some instances,
there are exceptions and there are uses
for plastic bags,” she said. “What I’m
truly attempting to do is cut down on

4

the use of unnecessary plastic bags
because those are the ones that end
up in the landfills and are blowing
around ... looking like jellyfish and
getting into the stomachs of wildlife.
Input from the public should
help guide the plastic-reduction
process, according to Williams.
“We should also should refer
to the businesses in our city and
get their cooperation on this and
get their input as to how we can
best go about this,” she said.
Williams said educating the public
will be a key factor in the endeavor.

”

 

a

 

¢ ¢ We can convince people that they don't
need as much plastic,” - Lorrie Williams,
New Westminster city councillor

Photo by Analvn Cuarto

 

“We can convince people that
they don’t need as much plastic as we
are using,” Williams said. “There is a
need for plastic and it isn’t going to go
away. But J think it should be a sensible
and a very efficient use of plastic—
not unnecessary single-use ones.”

City of Coquitlam presents
new online exhibit

> ‘Scrapbooks — Fragile Time Capsules’ offers glimpse into the past

Colten Kamlade
Staff Reporter

 

f you're curious about local
history, the new online exhibit
presented by the City of Coquitlam
Archives might be up your alley.
Officially opened February
19, “Scrapbooks -— Fragile Time
Capsules” showcases pictures, news
clippings, and other memorabilia
from Coquitlam’s past. According to
the City of Coquitlam website, these
include pictures of the construction of
the Coquitlam Dam, coverage of the
Coquitlam Satellites women’s hockey
team in the ’7os and ’80s, the Golden
Homecoming event at Burquitlam’s
Mountain View School in 1979, and
the centennial of the Imperial Order of
the Daughters of the Empire in 1971.
Emily Lonie, city archivist for
the City of Coquitlam, described
the process through which most of
these valuable items are acquired.
“Archival records are donated by

individual members of the public—in the
case of the Coquitlam Dam scrapbook—
or representatives of organizations—
[such as for the] Coquitlam Skating

Club scrapbook,” she said in an email
interview with the Other Press.

They cannot accept every donation,
however, so the city selects items based
on their importance to Coquitlam.

“In accordance with its mandate,
the Archive acquires civic and private
archival material of significance and
enduring value to the City of Coquitlam.
Under this policy, archival material
includes any documentary material
other than a publication, regardless
of medium or form,” Lonie wrote,
quoting the city’s acquisitions policy.

This means that ribbons,
event programs, decorative
images, and even ticket stubs can
be donated to the archive.

According to Lonie, the oldest
pieces of memorabilia from the
scrapbook are the pictures of the
construction of the Coquitlam Dam.

“The Coquitlam Dam scrapbook

is the oldest item in the current online
exhibit,” she said. “The photographs of
the dam site were taken between 1912
and 1913 during the construction of the
second phase of the Coquitlam Dam.”
The City of Coquitlam Archive
designs these exhibits, at least partially,
to raise awareness of the work that they
do and to include the public in it.
“When producing our online
exhibits, we are looking to raise
awareness of the Archives and the
records we preserve, to tell the stories
of Coquitlam’s past, and to encourage
donations of historical material,” Lonie
said. “In the case of the current exhibit,
we also saw an opportunity to provide
some preservation tips for those with
scrapbooks at home to ensure that they
will be available for future generations.”

 

She hopes that a similar
effort can be adopted throughout
the Lower Mainland.

“Tam hoping the whole of Metro
Vancouver will come onside,” she said.
“I think with this, if it’s a regional thing
it will have much more of an impact.”

Photos of Coquitlam Dam from ‘Scrapbooks - Fraaile Time Capsules’