Vancouver’s ban on plastic bags, fee on disposable cups, takes effect Saturday

Consumers will be charged an extra 25 cents for disposable cups, and an extra 15 cents for paper bags or $1 for reusable bags. 

Starting Saturday, the cost of a coffee or a trip to the grocery store in Vancouver could cost a little more, as the city aims to cut single-use cups and plastic bags.

Under a new bylaw taking effect Jan. 1, the city is banning the use of plastic shopping bags. Consumers will be charged an extra 25 cents for disposable cups, and an extra 15 cents for paper bags or $1 for reusable bags.

The fees were meant to take effect at the start of 2021, but were postponed amid COVID-19.

Businesses will keep the new fees, and are being urged to reinvest the money to switch to reusable alternatives to single-use items.

The new by-laws are important elements of Vancouver’s strategy to reduce single-use item waste. They’re an addition existing by-laws regarding plastic straws, utensils, and foam containers that went into effect in 2020.

According to the city, people in Vancouver threw out more than 82 million single-use cups and 89 million plastic bags in 2018 alone.

The city estimates the cost to collect and dispose of those items runs at about $2.5 million per year, and says many end up in the landfill.

The move comes as the federal government puts forward its own draft regulations to ban six kinds of “harmful” single-use plastics, including straws, six-pack rings, grocery bags and cutlery. Those rules are expected to come into effect by the end of 2022.