Vancouver city council removes single-use cup fee in majority vote

Vancouver city council has decided it will be scrapping its single-use cup fee Wednesday.

A strong majority voted for the motion to remove the 25-cent fee, which came into effect in January of 2022.

Coun. Rebecca Bligh put forward the motion to remove the fee saying that it has done little to change consumer habits.

The fee will be abolished by June 1, 2023, according to the city.

Ian Tostenson, BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association’s president and CEO, told Global News that while minimizing the footprint on the environment and climate is important, the fee was not the “right way to do it.”

“It’s our responsibility from an environmental point of view, but this wasn’t the way to do it. To penalize your customer and to have to try and explain to them the 25-cent fee is really a tough one,” he said.

“The environment is our number one responsibility and there’s a lot of businesses that are doing this despite city hall and are really interested in their footprint.

“We believe it’s all about consumer education and consumer engagement.”

Also on Wednesday, Loblaw Companies announced it will be transitioning away from single-use plastic bags for all of B.C. beginning Thursday.

That will include all locations of Real Canadian Superstore, Your Independent Grocer, Real Canadian Liquor Store, Extra Foods and PC Express across the province.

“We are a purpose-led organization, with a goal to help Canadians live life well. Our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint is an important part of that,” said Robert Sawyer, Loblaw Companies Limited’s COO.

“Our efforts to remove single-use plastic bags from our stores have already resulted in 13 billion fewer bags going to landfill. But we know there’s more work to be done.”

Loblaw customers are encouraged to bring their own bags to stores, but there will also be a variety of reusable alternatives available at checkout lanes, according to the company.

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