Single-Use Item Reduction Strategy

Upcoming by-law changes

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  Foam cups and foam take-out containers

  Jan 1, 2020: ban begins for business license holders

  Effective Jan 1, 2020, businesses are required to comply with a city-wide ban, which restricts licence holders from serving prepared food and beverages in foam cups and foam take-out containers.

  Hospitals and community care facilities are exempt, and a 1-year temporary exemption for charitable food providers will apply.

  • Businesses: learn more and get resources for your business
  • Residents: learn how you can support businesses through this transition

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  Waste snapshot

  • The remnants of foam cups and take out containers are frequently found in shoreline cleanups and as litter on our streets, parks, and green spaces. 
  • 78% of Vancouver residents support a ban and 82% of residents said that they would pay more for sustainable alternatives.
  • Foam cups and foam take-out containers can break apart. When this happens in recycling bins, the foam and any other materials around it cannot be recycled properly.
  • The majority of foam cups and foam take-out containers are sent to landfill. Only six% of Vancouver residents reported that they bring foam to a recycling depot.
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  Plastic straws

  Apr 22, 2020: ban begins

  Effective April 22, 2020, ban on plastic and compostable plastic straws with an accessibility requirement to provide bendable plastic straws wrapped in paper.

  Food vendors must provide accessible straws (bendable plastic straws wrapped in paper) and provide them to customers, without question, upon request.

  A one-year exemption is provided for plastic straws served with bubble tea to allow time for the market to provide alternatives.

  Did you know?

  Paper-wrapped bendable plastic straws meet the widest range of accessibility needs. The proposed by-law will aim to reduce the majority of plastic straws while improving accessibility and inclusion.

  Exemptions

  Pending Council approval, hospitals and community care facilities will be exempt from the ban.

  Support for the public, food vendors, and suppliers

  If the by-law is approved, we will launch a public awareness, education, and outreach campaign to support consumers, food vendors, and suppliers in the transition away from the unnecessary use of plastic straws.

  Sign up for updates on the campaign and educational resources when they become available. Resources will be available in English and five translated languages: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Punjabi, and Filipino.   

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  Waste snapshot

  • In 2018, about 102 million straws were thrown in the garbage in Metro Vancouver.
  • Plastic straws and stir sticks make up about 3% of shoreline litter in Vancouver.
  • Plastic straws can fall through screens on recycling sorting lines that are designed to remove contaminants, so they can’t be recycled. 
  • Plastic straws have a significant potential to contaminate compost.
  • Plastic straws – even those marked biodegradable, compostable, or made from plants – are considered contaminants and are not accepted in our Green Bin program.  The Green Bin program is designed to accept food scraps, yard waste, and food-soiled paper from residents.   
  • Compost facilities have difficulties processing compostable plastic because they take a long time to break down.
  • Plastic straws have negative impacts on marine life and the environment.
  • Biodegradable and compostable plastic straws are not designed to biodegrade when littered in the natural environment. 
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  Disposable utensils

  Apr 22, 2020: by-request requirement begins

  Effective April 22, 2020, all single-use utensils can only be given out by request.

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  Waste snapshot

  • In 2018, about 330 million disposable utensils were thrown in the garbage in Metro Vancouver. Over two thirds were chopsticks.
  • Plastic straws and stir sticks make up about 3% of shoreline litter in Vancouver.
  • Plastic straws and utensils can fall through screens on recycling sorting lines that are designed to remove contaminants, and sent to landfill or incinerator. 
  • Plastic straws and utensils — even those labeled biodegradable or compostable — have a significant potential to contaminate compost.
  • Compost facilities have difficulties processing compostable plastic straws and utensils because they take a long time to break down.
  • Plastic straws and utensils have negative impacts on marine life and the environment.
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  Plastic and paper bags

  Jan 1, 2021: ban begins

  Effective January 1, 2021, ban on plastic and compostable plastic shopping bags, with fees on paper and reusable bags.

  Paper bags must contain at least 40% recycled content. 

  Minimum fees of $0.15 per paper bag, $1.00 per reusable bag. 

  Minimum fees increase January 1, 2022 to $0.25 per paper bag, $2 per reusable bag.

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  Waste snapshot

  • Around 2 million plastic shopping bags are disposed in the garbage in Vancouver each week (63% are reused as garbage bags).
  • Plastic bags make up 3% of shoreline litter and 2% of large litter items in Vancouver streets, parks, and public spaces.
  • Paper bags make up 1% of large street litter items.
  • Plastic bags harm marine life and are made using non-renewable fossil fuels.
  • It can take anywhere from 10 to 10,000 years for a plastic shopping bag to decompose.
  • Paper bags actually cause more harmful greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetime than plastic bags because of manufacturing processes and they require more fuel because they are heavier to transport.
  • Biodegradable and compostable plastic bags are not designed to biodegrade when littered in the natural environment.
  • If disposed to landfill, biodegradable, and compostable plastic will generate methane, a greenhouse gas.
     
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  Disposable cups

  Jan 1, 2021: ban begins

  Effective January 1, 2021, there is a $0.25 minimum fee on all disposable cups.

  This will create a favourable environment for Reusable Cup Share programs to expand.

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  Waste snapshot

  • Disposable cups include polycoat paper cups (such as coffee cups) and plastic cups.
  • 2.6 million polycoat paper cups are thrown in the trash in Vancouver every week.
  • Nearly 50% of garbage collected from public waste bins are disposable cups and take-out containers.
  • 22% of litter on Vancouver streets are disposable cups, lids, and sleeves.
  • Recycle BC accepts polycoat paper cups in its household and apartment recycling program, but many businesses do not accept them because their waste collection companies struggle to access recycling markets.
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  Take-out containers

  Program details to be determined.

  Staff are working with Vancouver Coastal Health to explore opportunities to launch a reusable container program in Vancouver. 

  The program will launch once Vancouver Coastal Health develops a guideline to allow restaurants to fill take-out orders in reusable containers brought in by customers. 

  The guideline will enable restaurants to create a documented procedure for approval by the local health authority to ensure that customers’ reusable containers can be filled in a manner that maintains sanitary conditions.

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  Waste snapshot

  • Reduction and reuse alternatives for take-out containers are not well developed in Vancouver.
  • Quick-serve and take-out restaurants generally serve meals in disposable containers, as many of these restaurants don’t have space for commercial dishwashers or storage for dishes.
  • Health codes currently prevent restaurants from filling take-out orders in containers brought in by customers unless they sanitize them before use.
  • Nearly 50% of all garbage collected from public waste bins is take-out containers and disposable cups.
  • Compostable and recyclable packaging materials often get mixed up when discarded, contaminating both streams and making them impossible to process. This means they get disposed to landfill and incinerator.