Vancouver Is Banning Plastic Bags & Introducing Fees For Single-Use Cups

A ban on plastic bags is coming to Vancouver, B.C. next month, as well as fines on other types of single-use plastic.

On January 1, 2022, the regulations will come into effect in the city of Vancouver, implemented through new bylaws.

According to a news release from the City Of Vancouver, this means that single-use plastic bags, like grocery store bags, will be banned. In addition to this, there will be a fee of 25 cents for every single-use beverage cup.

If you go to the store and forget a reusable bag, you can buy one there for a minimum $1 fee, or hope they have paper bags.

The paper bags though have to be made out of at least 40% recycled content, and you have to pay a minimum fee of 15 cents for each.

Morgan Leet | Narcity

These fees are going to go to the businesses who collect them, and the release said that they "are encouraged to use the fees collected to invest in reusable alternatives and to help cover the cost of complying with the bylaws."

The release added that these new bylaws are "important pieces in our strategy to reduce waste from single-use items, and are added to existing bylaws for plastic straws, utensils, and foam containers that went into effect in 2020."

Morgan Leet | Narcity

It also said that in 2018 alone 89 million plastic bags were tossed in the trash in Vancouver, and over 82 million single-use cups. The hope of this ban is to curb the environmental impact of these plastics.

According to CTV News, the Canadawide ban on single-use plastic that was supposed to take effect by the end of this year is now delayed until "sometime in 2022."