In 2019, CCA volunteers launched an initiative to advocate to local businesses, local and regional governments, and the provincial government to reduce and eventually eliminate single-use plastics.
Letters were written to the BC Government, and locally to the editor of the Advance. Local stores were approached to reduce and eventually eliminate plastic bags.
Plans to collect fabric for the making of shopping bags for distribution at local grocery stores were well under way. A proposal to encourage take-your-own-container for take-out at restaurants began.
The committee hoped to work with the Town of Creston and the RDCK to implement a municipal ban on single-use plastics. This initiative was halted by the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Hazel Peel-Hodgson and Don Peel, enterprising members of CCA, independently researched and produced a comprehensive report on plastics, including the history, uses, and the environmental effects of plastic production.
Read this impressive document, “People, Planet and Plastic,” available to download or view in PDF.
By 2024 both large chain grocery stores in Creston as well as the BC Liquor Store had eliminated the use of single-use plastic bags at the till, requiring shoppers to bring their own re-usable bags. Other stores such as Elevate Mountain Lifestyles, Summit Cycle and more are now offering paper bags for their wares.
