MONTREAL, CANADA - RESIDENTS of Canada's Prince Edward Island rushed into stores Saturday to buy soda and beer in aluminium cans, after a decades-long ban on the containers was lifted.

Authorities on the island, the smallest in Canada and located on the eastern coast, banned beer in cans 35 years ago, following 11 years later with a similar law for fizzy drinks. Plastic was also prohibited, with glass bottles the only container allowed.

The measures were introduced to help preserve jobs at a local bottling plant and also safeguard the environment, since glass bottles can be recycled more effectively than cans.

But islanders have been pushing for change, and the issue played a part in the election of a new Liberal Party government last year.

Residents of the capital Charlottetown celebrated the lifting of the ban at a street party organized by a local radio station, where Environment Minister George Webster had the privilege of opening 'the first' can.

However Green Party leader Sharon Labchuk said the minister should 'be ashamed of himself,' and condemned the move.

'It's a sad day, not only for the environment in Prince Edward Island but for the environment in those far-away countries where aluminium, actually bauxite, is mined under extremely exploitive conditions of the local people and the environment,' she said. - AFP