Free drinks no longer subject to Vancouver’s 25-cent cup fee

Vancouver city council voted to amend the 25-cent disposable cup fee bylaw Tuesday night, allowing free drinks to be exempt from the additional cost.

The vote on the amendment ended in a 7-4 victory in favour of omitting the fee on free beverages, showing once again, how divided council is on the topic.

City Councillor, Sarah Kirby-Young says she believes the bylaw was fundamentally flawed since it was implemented, and hopes the amendment is a step to fixing the issues associated with it.

“We are enabling businesses including large fast food, multinational chains to collect 25-cents per cup in the city of Vancouver without requiring them to provide alternatives for the consumer. They’re making a significant amount of extra revenue but it’s not actually working to reduce the amount of cups.”

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The bylaw was enacted by council on Jan. 1, banning plastic bags, or charging 15-cents for them, and 25-cents for single-use cups. Kirby-Young says the goal of the bylaw was for businesses to invest the revenue on reusable, sustainable alternatives, however she believes this has not been the case.

“I think right now it’s just adding to the cost of the products, I would have liked to have seen a broader approach to this in terms of how we reduce our single use waste, it doesn’t have to be a bylaw regulation.”

Council has agreed to require all businesses to accept reusable cups by July. Further, staff will report back to council next year, looking into “options for requiring businesses to provide reusable cups for drinks ordered to stay, and to participate in a reusable cup-share program for to-go drinks, including recommendations for timing.”

There was also significant controversy over the fee as many said it disproportionately impacted low-income people, who could no longer use free vouchers without getting charged.

Shortly after the bylaw was implemented this year, at least one receipt was shared on social media where the customer was apparently charged the levy for a free meal.

Kirby-Young adds although she wants to see a shift in the way the city handles sustainability, she says fees that impact people unable to afford the added cost end up paying the most.

“Exempting free coffee vouchers from the cup fee for people that may be marginalized, and of low income that might be getting vouchers through different social services, for example, needed to be fixed. That was one of the reasons why we didn’t vote to support the implementation of that bylaw.”