City of Victoria single-use cup and food container bylaw upcoming

Victoria City Council will consider a redrafted single-use item reduction bylaw at their January 5, 2023 meeting. The bylaw would require:

• a 25-cent fee to be charged per single-use cup distributed (kept by business)
• a 25-cent fee to be charged for orders with single-use food service containers (kept by business)
• the menu and receipt must display “single-use cup fee:” or “single-use container fee:” and the amount of the fee
• single-use accessories (forks, spoons, knives, chopsticks, beverage cup lids [except for hot beverages], straws, stir sticks, drink plugs, drink trays, cup sleeves, napkins, and, condiment and seasoning packages) will be by request or self-service only
• reusable cups or food service wear must be provided for on-site dining (subject to exemptions) except where food wrappers or paper sleeves are provided to customers (not applicable to prepackaged beverages or food)
• the bylaw does not apply to the sale of prepared food and beverages or single-use items sold as a product, ordinarily in multiples

Effective dates would be based upon the passage of the bylaw and are generally between three months and two years after the passage of the bylaw.