CORY REDEKOP
LANGLEY – Continuing its recent record of growth, the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce it has reached another milestone this week as it surpassed the 1,100 member-mark, re-establishing its place as one of the province’s largest chambers of commerce or boards of trade.
With members of every size, from every sector, and hailing from every geographic part of the community, the Langley Chamber represents the breadth of the Langley business community, and serves as the platform for thousands of Langley professionals and owners to meet, collaborate and solve problems. The Langley Chamber is the convenor, supporter and advocate for local, Langley business.
“We’re thrilled to be welcoming so many new businesses to the Chamber community, and we thank each of our 1,101 members for their support and engagement,” says Cory Redekop, CEO of the Langley Chamber. “In a time of seemingly greater partisanship and division, having a platform like the Chamber where everyone is welcome, where all businesses have a seat at the table, I think is more important than ever.”
At the most recent Langley Business Mixer held on July 10, the Langley Chamber was able to welcome some of it’s newest members, including MOKOSH Beauty, which officially became member 1,101 and helped the Chamber cross this exciting threshold.
Attention retail and food service businesses!
On July 15, 2024, the following provincial single-use item restrictions come into effect. While some businesses have already implemented these steps in response to federal regulations, the province’s rules are now coming into effect:
While plastic bags have already been banned, reusable shopping bags must now have the following minimum fees:
- Reusable bags are allowed to be sold for a minimum of $2
- Recycled paper bags can be sold for a minimum of 25 cents
- Recycled take-out bags can still be provided free by food service businesses for delivery and drive-through orders
- Bags provided for things like bulk foods, individual screws/nails/fasteners, and for fruit and vegetables are not included or impacted
Food service ware made of polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) and all oxo-degradable plastics are banned
Existing Federal Rules
The lack of a comprehensive approach by government has led to a patchwork of regulations and timelines for businesses to manage. Despite an ongoing court challenge, the following federal rules came into effect on December 20, 2023 and are in effect:
The following items are prohibited altogether from being sold or handed out:
- plastic utensils, including spoons, forks, knifes, chopsticks, stir sticks and drink splash plugs
- plastic shopping bags
- food service ware made from expanded and extruded polystyrene foam, PVC, black coloured plastic, or oxo-degradable plastic including bowls, boxes or cartons, cups, containers, plates, platters and trays
- plastic straws (not including flexible straws packaged with a beverage ie: juice box)
And these items should now only be given at a customer’s request or from a self-service station:
- wooden utensils
- cup lids and sleeves
- straws (paper or other non-plastic only)
- single-serving condiments
- napkins or wet wipes
- garnishes (e.g., plastic sushi grass, umbrellas for drinks)
Cory Redekop is the CEO of the Langley Chamber
