Vancouver’s single-use cup fee officially scrapped

The mandatory 25-cent fee you were charged every time you bought a ‘to-go’ drink in Vancouver is now history.

The controversial cup charge dropped on May 1.

Vancouver City Council voted to make the change back on Feb. 15, when Coun. Rebecca Bligh said the city “heard resounding feedback from businesses and residents that this fee was ineffective.”

“With affordability at top of mind for many across Vancouver, repealing the cup fee was the right thing to do,” she added.

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Early on, the fee was criticized for its failure to consider those with free drink vouchers, and its inability to reduce the amount of single-use cups going out.

The free-drink concern was dealt with through an amendment to the bylaw, but eventually, the entire fee continued to be criticized and was scrapped.

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The previous council originally brought it in as a way to get people to move away from using disposable cups.

Still, city staff has been asked to come back with a report looking at other ways to reduce the use of single-use cups.

Although businesses are no longer required to charge the fee, some may still choose to do so.

-With files from James Paracy, John Ackermann and Emily Marsten