A plastics breakdown (in some cases, quite literally)

By COLLIN GALLANT on August 3, 2019.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

Pivoting from petrochemical production to plastic, a roundup of notable items have a similar theme running through this week’s long-weekend musing.

It starts with furthering plans to build a biodiesel refinery that can eat plastic as feedstock, and major retailers are now ridding their operations of single-use bags of their own volition.

It also reveals, perhaps, how a “Ticked off” is formed.

Well, keyboards may have been tickled this week after a local advocate asking that plastic bags be banned was quoted as saying that after Safeway and Sobeys stop issuing single-use bags in January people will get used to or prefer reusable “silk” bags.

Come down off the roof, it’s a misquote on the News’s part.

Uwe Krickhahn was quoted as saying people will get used to using “silk cloth” shopping bags.

Krickhahn, who speaks with a somewhat thick German accent, in fact said “sail cloth,” meaning canvass, or more durable nylon.

Calgary Co-op announced its plans to stop issuing single-use bags in gas bars soon, with food stores at the nation’s largest grocery co-op to follow in order.

Still, bags have their fans.

A press release from a group called the Canadian Plastic Bag Association notes that not handing out plastic bags is exactly the wrong thing to do to tackle the plastic crisis or climate change.

A single-use bag, it says, can be recycled 50 times, compared to a woven bag (just once). Surely though, it could be used 50 or more times, leading to a big net benefit?

The move against plastic use in general would seemingly be great concern in Alberta, where governments see plastic production as a diversification avenue as well as a plan B for petrochemicals extracted from the oil sands.

The region

Just one vote decided the municipal byelection in Bassano held July 17, according to official results released Tuesday.

Irvin Morey counted 75 votes in the race to fill the vacant seat on the town’s council, while candidate Michael Wetzstein received 74 and third-place finisher Brad West received nine.

Morey takes over the position left open when councillor Lynn McWilliam resigned in the spring to deal with an illness in her family.

Of course the entire process may change in 2021 if Bassano and other local governments within the County of Newell move ahead with amalgamation into a regional municipality that includes Brooks.

That year denotes the timing of the next round of municipal elections in Alberta, meaning that as of October, the current term of town, county and city councillors will be halfway complete.

Up in the air

New reports suggest this summer is one of the stormiest in Alberta in recent memory, though in the southeast ‘unpleasant’ is a pretty good term to describe the dry atmosphere. Spotty is another. Sweltering is universal.

And then there’s this from the Saskatchewan crop report detailing progress in the southwest region of that province: “Crops are in poor-to-excellent condition, though this is extremely variable throughout the region.”

A look ahead

Council, which typically meets on the first Monday of the month, enters its summer break in early August. Members next convene Aug. 19.

In other areas, the provincial government keeps pumping out the press releases and there’s a federal election approaching.

Also, back-to-school sales have started up. Phooey!

100 years ago

The newly created Canadian Wheat Board would have the ability to fix minimum profit margins and have great authority over wheat and flour, according to an order in council announced in Ottawa.

City officials planned to press upon visiting CPR managers the need for the Leader-to Medicine Hat line, while Mayor Brown expected a final announcement to be made at the approaching Alberta Industrial Congress meetings.

Medicine Hat was also set to host the annual convention of the Western Irrigation Association and a banquet for returned members of the 3rd “CMR and 175th Battalions.”

A squad billing themselves as the “All-lefthanders” challenged the Cypress Club Cloutsmiths to a baseball match with the loser to donate a bag of flour to the hospital. In football, The Callies beat the Cliffers to win the News Cup, awarded to the top soccer team in the city.

Bankers in Spokane, connected to the Hat via the Spokane Flyers route, were now offering a 4.5 per cent discount when buying Canadian currency, a record low.

Collin Gallant covers city politics and a variety of topics for the News. Reach him at 403-528-5664 or via email at cgallant@medicinehatnews.com