Edmontonians get creative after the single-use item bylaw takes effect

Edmonton’s new single-use item bylaw has now taken effect and it hasn’t taken long for people to find inventive ways to receive their fast-food orders.

On July 1, Edmonton’s Single-use Item Reduction Bylaw came into effect. The City says the aim of the bylaw is to reduce waste that can be avoided or replaced with reusable alternatives, with a focus on switching from plastic to non-plastic products.

Items considered “single-use” include plastics, wood, bamboo, cardboard, and other materials.

Under the new bylaw, single-use plastic shopping bags (including compostable or biodegradable plastic shopping bags) can no longer be distributed and businesses must charge at least 15 cents for a paper bag and $1 for a reusable shopping bag.

This apparently includes fast food bags, as a couple of Edmontonians discovered the other day. This led to some finding some interesting alternatives to avoid being charged the 15-cent bag fee.

Had my first encounter with the City of Edmonton’s new single use items bylaw and now my Wendy’s is in a Dollarama bag pic.twitter.com/7yg1UAYTsD

— Jonny Wakefield (@jonnywakefield) July 3, 2023

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New Single use law
by u/Vroomviking in Edmonton

People on Reddit had a lot to say about the new method of transporting fast food.

“Sigh….no more bag fries….,” one person complained.

“Good strategy tbh I always feel bad throwing out a perfectly good paper bag but keeping them is too hoard-y so this is a good middle ground,” one person added.

“Meanwhile we’ve got billionaires flying around the world in their private jets…,” another wrote.

“I’m just going to keep some giant Tupperware in my car from now on 😅,” someone else said.

Per the City of Edmonton bylaw, other things such as utensils, straws, condiment packets, and napkins will only be available by request or self-serve as of July 1.

If you are dining in at a restaurant, they must serve your drink order in a reusable cup. Restaurants must also have a written policy for accepting reusable cups from customers.

In addition to fewer of these items ending up in landfills, providing these items upon request means businesses aren’t paying for unnecessary things.

Have you encountered the new bylaw yet?