Cups

Complying with the by-law

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  By-law overview

  Effective Jan 1, 2022 (new date): 

  • A minimum fee of $0.25 must be charged on each single-use beverage cup distributed. 
  • Cup fees must be displayed on menu boards, menus, and internet-based ordering platforms.
  • Cup fees must be shown as a separate line item on any receipts provided to customers by using wording such as “Cup fee”. 
  • Food vendors must tell customers the amount of the cup fee for any orders placed over the phone.
  • Businesses keep the cup fees. Revenue from cup fees is not remitted to the City.
  • Starting with 2023 licence renewals, food vendors must report the number of single-use cups distributed in the past 12 months at each licensed location when they renew their business licence each year.
  • The cup reporting requirement is waived for each business location participating in a reusable cup-share program. This is intended to encourage food vendors to participate in reusable cup-share programs.

  How reusable cup-share works

  Reusable cup-share program means customers:

  1. Are given the choice of receiving their drink in a reusable cup; 
  2. May leave the business premises with the reusable cup, and;
  3. May return the reusable cup to the business, or a drop-off location, at a later time.

  Review the by-law

  • By-law 12844 (amends By-law 4450 regarding the effective date of requirements for single-use beverage cups) PDF file (107 KB)
  • By-law 12622 (amends By-law 4450 regarding single-use cups) PDF file (20 KB)
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  Who the by-law applies to

  All food vendors with a Vancouver business licence must comply with the cup by-law. Food vendors are businesses, charities, and not-for-profits that:

  • Sell prepared food (food meant to be eaten without further cooking), or;
  • Provide food for free or at low cost (some exemptions apply)

  This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Arenas
  • Bakeries
  • Bars, lounges
  • Bed and breakfasts
  • Breweries
  • Cafés and tea shops
  • Caterers
  • Community centres
  • Concessions
  • Convenience stores
  • Delis
  • Drugstores
  • Food courts
  • Delivery services (that sell food)
  • Food manufacturers
  • Food retailers
  • Food trucks
  • Food vendors at festivals and events
  • Food wholesalers
  • Grocery stores
  • Halls
  • Limited service food establishments
  • Liquor establishments
  • Private schools
  • Market outlets
  • Not-for-profit corporations
  • Registered charities
  • Restaurants
  • Street food vendors
  • Theatres
  • Venues
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  Exemptions

  Hospitals and community care facilities

  The by-law does not apply to single-use cups used for food service to patients in hospitals and community care facilities.

  Important information The by-law does apply to food vendors with a Vancouver business license whose premises are located in hospitals or community care facilities (for example: cafeterias, cafes) that serve prepared food to customers.

  Charitable food services

  Registered charities and not-for-profit corporations are not required to charge fees on single-use cups used to provide beverages for free or at low-cost, or report the number of cups used for this purpose.

  Important information Organizations must be incorporated and in good standing under the Society Act, or registered as a charitable organization under the federal Income Tax Act to qualify for the charitable food services exemption.

  Food served in cups

  The cup fee and reporting requirement do not apply to single-use cups used to serve prepared food, such as soup, pudding, frozen desserts, etc.

  Selling packages of single-use cups in stores

  Retailers are still permitted to sell packages of at least 6 single-use beverage cups sold for personal use.

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  Cup fees and revenue

  Food vendors keep fees from cups. Revenue from cup fees is not remitted to the City. 

  Food vendors are encouraged to use the fees to:

  • Invest in reusable alternatives for single-use items, such as reusable cups for drinks to stay, commercial dishwashers, and reusable cup-share programs
  • Cover the cost of complying with the by-law, like software updates, training staff

  Help your customers avoid fees and reduce waste by:

  • Providing reusable cups for drinks to stay
  • Participating in a reusable cup-share program
  • Encouraging customers to bring their own cup

  Discounts can still be offered to reward customers for choosing reusable cups.
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  Reporting requirement

  Starting with 2023 licence renewals, food vendors must report the number of single-use cups distributed in the past 12 months at each licensed location when they renew their business licence each year.

  The cup reporting requirement is waived for each business location participating in a reusable cup-share program. This is intended to encourage food vendors to participate in reusable cup-share programs.

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  Suggested alternatives: What to choose instead

  We encourage you to source reusable alternatives or single-use packaging that can be: 

  • Recycled in the Recycle BC residential recycling program External link icon
  • Composted in the City Green Bin organics program External link icon

  Review suggested alternatives:

  • English PDF file (898 KB)
  • 繁體中文 PDF file (1.4 MB)
  • 简体中文 PDF file (1.5 MB)
  • ਪੰਜਾਬੀ PDF file (1.7 MB)
  • Tagalog PDF file (1.8 MB)
  • Tiếng Việt PDF file (2 MB)
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  Reusable cup-share program

  A reusable cup-share program allows customers to receive their drink in a reusable cup that they can take to-go, and return to the business or another drop-off location at a later time. 

  It's like car-share or bike-share, but for cups.

  Review a list of cup-share suppliers PDF file (75 KB)

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  Accepting reusable cups during COVID-19

  Important note COVID-19: Under current BC Centre for Disease Control External website, opens in new tab and Vancouver Coastal Health External website, opens in new tab guidelines, vendors can provide reusable cups and accept customers’ reusable cups during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  We have worked with Vancouver Coastal Health to ensure “contactless cup” procedures can be used to serve drinks in customers’ reusable cups.

  Tell your staff and customers about it with our contactless cups poster in the single-use item by-law toolkit.

  Contactless coffee procedure

  Used by cafes and restaurants around the world, these procedures are safe for accepting reusable cups during the COVID-19 pandemic and are allowed by Vancouver Coastal Health.

  Method 1

  1. Customer takes off the lid and places their clean reusable cup on a designated tray or in another container and steps back 2 m.
  2. Staff moves the tray or container to where the drink will be prepared, making sure to prevent any contact with the customer’s reusable cup.
  3. Without touching the customer’s reusable cup, staff then pours the prepared drink into the customer’s reusable cup.
  4. Staff bring the tray with the customer’s reusable cup to a countertop where the customer can then take it away. 
  5. Wash and sterilize trays and containers after every use.

  Method 2

  1. Staff prepare the drink in a small jug or reusable "to stay" cup that has been washed and sanitized in a commercial dishwasher.
  2. Staff or customer pours the drink into their travel mug.
  3. Staff wash and sanitize the cup or jug used for pouring.

  Cleaning guidelines for your own reusable cup

  To protect the safety of residents, businesses, and their staff, encourage your customers to follow these cleaning guidelines, approved by Vancouver Coastal Health, for customers’ own reusable cups:

  • Most insulated travel mugs are not dishwasher safe.
  • Hand wash your travel mug and lid with warm soapy water after each use.
  • Rinse under running water. Dry completely.
  • Make sure there is no leftover drink residue in your cup or on your lid. Businesses are not required to handle dirty cups or clean yours for you.
  • Replace chipped, cracked, or otherwise damaged travel mugs.
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  Myth busting: compostable and degradable plastics

  It’s time for some myth busting. You might be surprised to find out what happens to these items after your customers are done with them. 

  Fact 1

  Plastic that is labeled or described as compostable, degradable (example: biodegradable, oxodegradable, photodegradable), bioplastic, or made from plants or other biological materials:

  • Is not accepted in the City Green Bin organics program
  • Contaminates existing composting and recycling streams
  • Is not approved for composting under provincial regulation
  • Is not designed to biodegrade if littered in the natural environment

  Fact 2

  Plastic that is labeled or described as compostable or degradable is also not accepted in Recycle BC’s residential recycling program External website, opens in new tab.

  Fact 3

  As contaminants, plastics that are labeled or described as compostable, degradable, or made from plants are most likely to be removed from composting and recycling streams and then disposed to landfill or incinerator.

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  Food delivery services

  Food vendors located in Vancouver must comply with the single-use item by-laws, including sales through food delivery services. 

  All food delivery service providers should update their online, mobile, and telephone ordering platforms for food vendors located in Vancouver to ensure that customers are charged for any single-use drink cups and that the fees are reflected on receipts.

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  Enforcing the rules

  Due to the extenuating circumstances of COVID-19, City staff are prioritizing outreach and education to ensure businesses have the support they need in order to comply with the single-use item by-laws.

  If a business is found to be out of compliance with the single-use item by-laws that are in effect, our initial actions will focus on education, outreach, and support to help them comply.

  Following these initial education actions, increasing levels of enforcement may be applied to address non-compliant operators. Enforcement may include issuing tickets, which carry a fine of $500 per offence. The provision for the $500 fine is in the Ticket Offences By-law No. 9360 PDF file (218 KB).

  Further prosecutions in provincial court could be subject to a maximum fine of $10,000 per offence. 

  Ongoing non-compliance may also result in business licence suspensions, or recommendations for business licence revocation.

  Information icon Charitable food services may continue to distribute single-use items with food or meals during COVID-19. Charitable food services are expected to begin working towards complying with the by-laws as soon as it is possible for them.

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  Your turn: prepare for the cup by-law

  Inform your staff and customers

  Get a single-use item by-law toolkit to inform staff and customers of the single-use item by-law requirements.

  Toolkit materials for cups include a by-law guide, FAQs, two posters, and a till topper.

  Toolkits are available in six languages: English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Punjabi, Filipino (Tagalog), and Vietnamese.

  Where possible, make reusables the new norm

  As best practice, train staff to automatically offer a reusable cup for drinks to stay, and always ask customers if they need a single-use cup before providing one. Use the City of Vancouver's till toppers or digital graphics to prompt your customers. 

  Reusable cup-share program

  Consider offering your customers a reusable cup-share program for drinks to go. Locations that participate in a cup-share program do not have to report to the City the number of disposable cups distributed per year. 

  Sanitize reusable cups

  Follow your food safety and sanitation plan approved by Vancouver Coastal Health External website, opens in new tab to clean and sanitize your reusable cups. 

  Introduce “contactless cups”

  Work with your Vancouver Coastal Health environmental health officer to develop a safe-handling procedure for travel mugs. The contactless cup methods on page 16 meet Vancouver Coastal Health External website, opens in new tab requirements. 

  Use the poster in our by-law toolkit to tell your customers how this works.

  Update Point of Sale (POS) systems

  Update your in-store, online, mobile and telephone POS to charge fees on single-use cups and to ensure receipts display this fee as a separate line item. Fees are subject to GST and PST. 

  Update menus and menu boards to communicate the cup fee to customers

  Sample wording you can use on your menu board: 

  • Cup fees: To comply with City of Vancouver by-law requirements, we charge a minimum $0.25 fee for single-use cups. Fees from cups will be used for/to ___.

  Train your staff to communicate the cup fee to customers when taking orders over the phone

  Be transparent with revenue from cup fees

  Show your customers how you are using the revenue from the cup fees. Posters to share this information are available as part of our business toolkit at vancouver.ca/cups. 

  Put a system in place to track the number of single-use cups you distribute each year

  You can track this using your electronic POS system, or other methods such as counting how many cups are in your inventory at the beginning and end of the year. 

  Report single-use cups distributed at locations that do not offer reusable cup-share

  Starting with the business license renewal for 2023, the number of single-use cups distributed at each licensed location in the past 12 months must be reported to the City, unless the location is participating in a reusable cup-share program that started anytime in the past year and is communicated to customers at the point of sale.