Nearly $380,000 of plastic bag fees collected by Northern and North Mart stores in five provinces and one territory will be reinvested in the communities they were collected from through the North West Company’s Greener Tomorrow program.
The program began when the stores gave every household in communities where they are located two reusable shopping bags and started charging a fee for plastic bags at the till. These fees are then donated back to local initiatives chosen by each community’s leadership, beginning April 22. This year the money supports recycling programs, community cleanups, park maintenance, breakfast programs, land-based and environmental education, sports and wellness programs, greenhouse and seeds programs, and solar energy.
“The Greener Tomorrow success relies on the willingness and commitment of the people to work to improve their community,” said North West Company Canadian retail president Alex Yeo. “We’re pleased to see acceptance and growth of the program in communities, going back eight years now, starting with Nunavut and Nunavik in northern Quebec and now in northern Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan.”
Ten communities in Manitoba are receiving more than $63,000 collectively from the Greener Tomorrow program, including Gods River, Moose Lake, Norway House, Red Sucker Lake, St. Theresa Point and Split Lake. Nearly half of that total – $31,733.22 – is going to support community programs in St. Theresa Point.
