Vancouver's single-use cup fee has ended and you can now save $0.25

Vancouverites will see the price of their morning Joe drop slightly starting on Monday.

The $0.25 single-use cup fee that customers must pay to businesses located within the borders of the City of Vancouver has now come to an end.

The City says that food vendors are encouraged to remove the cup fee from their in-store, online, and mobile point-of-sale systems, menus, and receipts by May 1.

The controversial single-use cup fee went into effect on January 1, 2022, with the intent of reducing garbage volumes and litter on streets and public spaces and encouraging the public and businesses to use reusable cups.

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Based on 2018’s single-use cup volumes, businesses across Vancouver could be conservatively collecting at least over $20 million in revenue annually.

However, Vancouver City Council voted to remove the fee because while the intent was to reduce waste, there were no checks and balances on how the businesses were spending the money collected from the fee.

News release: new cup and shopping bag by-laws start in #Vancouver on January 1, 2022.
Bring your own cup and bags to reduce single-use waste and avoid fees.
Learn more: https://t.co/0gkUIvcmuu pic.twitter.com/rMuWjsppA7

— City of Vancouver (@CityofVancouver) November 30, 2021

But, for those who welcomed the fee and the move to a more environmentally friendly city, the council says it will be looking at other ways to do so going forward.

“Staff will be reporting back to Council by the end of 2023 with recommendations for potential policies and strategies to help reduce single-use cups,” the website reads in part.

Plus, while you won’t be charged for a takeout cup, the move will not impact the other fees and/or restrictions for shopping bags, straws, utensils, and foam cups/containers.

It remains to be seen how many businesses will keep the fee or increase the cost of their drinks after removing the fee, especially in the current challenging economic and inflationary environment.

A quick search on McDonald’s Uber Eats delivery shows the massive chain has removed the upcharge, but the bag fee remains in place.

With files from Kenneth Chan and Amir Ali