Cups

Cup fees

• 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.

Free drinks exempted from cup fee

Business can provide free drinks in single-use cups without charging a cup fee if the drinks provided are: 

• At no cost to the customer, such as free water or complimentary coffee
• In exchange for a “drink voucher” (voucher would specify that it’s good for a free drink or free drink and free meal)
• In exchange for points or rewards earned using a licence holder’s loyalty or rewards program

Accepting customers’ clean reusable cups

• Businesses must accept customers’ clean reusable cups for drinks ordered in-store.
• Food vendors must have and follow a written procedure for serving drinks (hot and cold) in a customer’s clean reusable cup for drinks ordered in store. The procedure must be in accordance with food safety and sanitary practices required by public health authorities.
• The cup fee and other cup regulations still apply when reusable cups cannot be accepted. 

Cup reporting

• Starting with 2023 licence renewals, Licence By-law No. 4450 (section 15.8) PDF file (643 KB) requires food vendors must report the number of single-use cups distributed in the past 12 months at each license location when they renew their business licence each year.
• Businesses are not required to report the number of single-use cups for any location participating in a reusable cup-share program for customers. This is intended to encourage food vendors to participate in reusable cup-share programs.

Review the by-law

For the consolidated cup regulations, refer to section 15.8 in Licence By-law No. 4450 PDF file (643 KB).

Like the shopping bag fees, food vendors keep the cup fees. Revenue from these fees is not remitted to the City. The City of Vancouver is not explicitly authorized to collect a sales tax.

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 choose reusables or bring their own cup. Get posters and till toppers

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

As of March 29, 2022, businesses can provide the following free drinks in single-use cups to customers without charging a cup fee:

• Drinks provided at no cost to the customer, such as free water or complimentary coffee
• Drinks provided in exchange for a “drink voucher” (voucher specifies that it’s good for a free drink, or free drink and free meal) 
• Drinks provided in exchange for points or rewards earned using a licence holder’s loyalty or rewards program

Information icon Drinks purchased with a monetary voucher, gift card, or subscription service are not exempt from the cup fee. This exemption also does not include drinks ordered with meal combos or buy-one-get-one offers.

As of July 1, businesses must accept customers’ clean reusable cups for drinks ordered in-store.

Food vendors must have and follow a written procedure for serving drinks (hot and cold) in a customer’s clean reusable cup for drinks ordered in store. The procedure must be in accordance with food safety and sanitary practices required by public health authorities.

Cups food vendors can refuse

Food vendors can refuse cups that are:

• Not food safe (for example dirty or damaged cups)
• Too small for the drink the customer has ordered
• Not safe for hot drinks (for example uninsulated glass jar)

The requirement to accept a customers’ reusable cup will also not apply to:

• Drinks served in a reusable cup - When a drink is already served in a reusable cup supplied by the business (for example at a dine-in restaurant), the business is not required to accept a customers’ reusable cup for that drink.
• Alcoholic drinks - Liquor licensees are responsible to ensure patrons do not take liquor outside their alcohol service area.
• Events with bag checks - Events where every patron is checked to prevent anyone from bringing in objects that could be used as projectiles.
• Drive-thrus - Food vendors are not required to accept reusable cups at drive-thrus.

Information icon The cup fee and other cup regulations still apply when reusable cups can't be accepted.

If your current food safety and sanitation plan:

• Includes a written procedure for accepting customers’ clean reusable cups:
  • Continue following your procedure with no change to your operations
    Information icon Let your customers know you accept reusable cups. Get posters and till toppers
• Doesn't yet include a written procedure for accepting customers’ reusable cups:
  • Update your plan as soon as possible and submit it to your local health authority for review and approval so you can start accepting reusable cups by July 1, 2022
  • Review contactless cup procedures allowed by Vancouver Coastal Health
  • Download the contactless cup poster PDF file (592 KB)

Starting with 2023 licence renewals, Licence By-law No. 4450 (section 15.8) PDF file (643 KB) requires food vendors to 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.

Businesses are not required to report the number of single-use cups for any location participating in a reusable cup-share program for customers. This is intended to encourage food vendors to participate in reusable cup-share programs.

Learn more about cup reporting

Business locations that offer a reusable cup-share program to customers, either their own or through a cup-share service provider PDF file (197 KB), do not have to report the number of single-use cups distributed, even if the program was introduced after the by-law came into effect on January 1, 2022. 

What is a reusable cup-share program?

A reusable cup-share program (or cup-borrowing or returnable cup program) lets customers borrow a reusable cup from the store and take their drink to go, then return it to the store or another drop-off location. The cup and lid are cleaned and sanitized before they are used for other customers. Depending on the program, consumers typically pay a small deposit that is refunded when they return the cup or buy a monthly subscription. 

Cup-share is a zero-waste solution that makes reusable cups as convenient as single-use cups for drinks to go. It lets people skip the $0.25 cup fee and choose reusable if they forget their own cup, or if they don’t want to carry their cup around. It’s like car-share or bike-share, but for cups.

Is accepting customers’ reusable cups considered a cup-share program?

No. We’re encouraged to see businesses doing their part to reduce waste and help customers avoid the $0.25 cup fee by accepting customers’ clean reusable cups. However, accepting customers’ cups is a by-law requirement in Licence By-law No. 4450 section 15.8 (9) and doesn’t qualify as an exemption from the single-use cup reporting requirement, even if your business sells the reusable cup.

The cup reporting exemption is for business locations that take the extra step to offer a reusable cup-share program for their customers.

Do any Vancouver businesses have a reusable cup-share program?  

Yes. Over 120 business locations in Vancouver, including independent restaurants and local and multi-national chains, now offer cup-share, either with their own branded programs or through a local cup-share service provider PDF file (197 KB).

A new cup-borrowing pilot by Return-It External website, opens in new tab and major chains is also underway in Vancouver. Dedicated bins for collecting borrowed reusable cups have been placed in selected commercial and on-street locations in Vancouver. Consumers can return their branded reusable cup in a designated bin to be collected, washed, sanitized and returned to participating stores. 

Since the cup by-law came into effect on January 1, 2022, we have encouraged businesses to invest their revenue from the cup fee in reusable alternatives and infrastructure like cup-share programs.  

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

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.

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 Food vendors, such as cafes, located within hospitals or community care facilities are not exempt from the cup by-law.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 cup methods

Important note These procedures replace the Contactless Cup Methods published in the Single-Use Item By-law Guide (July 2021).

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

Method 1 Steps

1. Customer takes off the lid and places their clean reusable cup on a designated tray or another container provided by staff.
2. Staff moves the tray or container to where the drink will be prepared without making contact with the customer’s cup. 
3. Staff pours the prepared drink into the customer’s reusable cup without making contact.   
4. Staff brings the tray (or container) with the customer’s cup to a countertop where the customer can then take it away. 
5. Staff wash and sanitize trays and containers frequently and when contamination of equipment has occurred. Follow procedures outlined in your food safety and sanitation plan.

Method 2 Steps

1. Staff prepare the drink in a small jug or reusable cup used for pouring.
2. Without touching the customer’s cup, staff pours the prepared drink into the customer’s reusable cup.
3. Staff wash and sanitize the jug or cup used for pouring frequently and when contamination of equipment has occurred. Follow procedures outlined in your food safety and sanitation plan.

Cleaning guidelines for customers' 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.

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)

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 green bin
• 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.

Since the by-law came into effect, concerns were raised about potential unintended impacts of the cup fee, which include:

• Impacts to low income residents
• Businesses charging cup fees without offering reusable alternatives

In response to these concerns, Council directed staff to report back with recommended adjustments to the cup by-law to address these impacts. Council approved the following changes to the cup by-law:

• On March 2, Council approved, in principle, by-law amendments to require businesses to accept customers’ reusable cups for drinks ordered in-store starting July 1, 2022. 
• On March 29, Council approved by-law amendments to exempt free drinks from the cup fee.
• On June 7, Council approved enactment of by-law amendments to require businesses to accept customers’ clean reusable cups for drinks ordered in-store starting July 1, 2022.