Vancouver city council expected to scrap single-use cup fee

It’s a controversial rule that’s been in place for just over a year and by the end of Wednesday, it could be a thing of the past.

A motion brought forward by Vancouver City Coun. Rebecca Bligh is pushing to get rid of the 25-cent fee on single-use cups. The rule, brought in by the previous city council, was put into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, with the goal of getting more people to use their reusable cups when grabbing a drink while reducing unnecessary waste in the system.

Ian Tostenson, the president and CEO of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, doesn’t think the idea has been successful.

“The whole deal here was to reduce the number of cups in the system and it’s not doing that. People are just paying 25 cents,” points out Tostenson. “It has been a complete waste of time, because at a time when we’re feeling the effects of the pandemic, we’ve got a massive labour shortage, it was a bit tone-deaf for the city to bring in a 25-cent fee at a time when business owners were scrambling.”

He feels it was also a deterrent for customers which also hurts businesses while both deal with inflation.

Related Articles:

• Vancouver may be getting rid of single-use cup fees

• B.C. expands blue box recycling to include plastic straws, cutlery

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

“The city said, ‘You can take that money and invest it and buy a new dishwasher and buy new cups,’ [but] you’ve got to sell a lot of 25-cent coffee cups to be able to pay for that.”

Tostenson supports scrapping the fee and says his organization is one of many who will go back to the drawing board with city officials to figure out how to tackle waste in the future.

“These are plastic-lined cups, they’re not exactly the most desirable from a landfill perspective. In time, you’ll see technology catch up. It’s not there yet. A lot of technology around packaging is not there yet, and the consumer’s education isn’t there yet.”

Cody Irwin, the founder and CEO of ShareWares, a Vancouver company specializing in reusable packaging like take-out containers and cups, says they work with dozens of companies, some with big names, who are for the idea of getting people to use reusable cups.

He wants to see the fee stay. “It’s definitely cut too short.”

“It takes a long time to change directions on these giant ships, these huge corporations that want to do these things. It’s good for business. It’s good for marketing and it’s good for the planet.”

Irwin feels the city is getting rid of the rule too soon. “All industry can’t just pivot on a dime and the data hasn’t even come in yet.”

Tostenson feels more people need to be educated about how to reduce waste, whereas Irwin believes we’re past that, and action is needed to help protect the environment.

“It’s heartbreaking for so many in the industry. We don’t have any other levers to use to start driving sustainability. Education isn’t enough. Nobody wants to listen to the government tap on a sign, saying, ‘Public service announcement, use less this.’ Nobody listens to that.”

Irwin admits he’s worried for not only the future of the planet but his own bottom line if the fee is nixed.

If the motion is given the green light, the goal will be to repeal the rule by no later than Jun. 1.