After receiving provincial go-ahead, Victoria has finalized a bylaw the city expects will eliminate 60 million single-use items from circulating every year.
The Single-Use Items Reduction bylaw will come into effect over the next two years and contains two main components.
The first piece requires businesses to hand out single-use items such as utensils, stir sticks, condiment packets and straws only upon request. That requirement comes into effect in December.
The second aspect compels businesses to provide only reusable dishware – such as plates, cups and cutlery – to customers who are dining on-site at food-service spots. That part of the bylaw comes into force in March 2026 and doesn't apply to prepackaged foods and drinks.
The city says more than 220,000 single-use items are thrown away every day in Victoria and packaging material makes up 17 per cent of the waste sent to the region's landfill.
“This is a significant step forward in our commitment to fostering a circular economy,” Mayor Marianne Alto said in a news release. “The new bylaw will reduce waste, lessen the strain on our regional landfill and create a cleaner community for residents and visitors.”
The bylaw was largely approved in the spring of 2023 but wasn't adopted until Thursday (Sept. 5) as it underwent a year-long review by B.C.'s environment ministry. Council amended the proposed bylaw in June as the province advised pushing back the implementation date for the on-site dining requirements, which originally would've took effect next year. The environment minister then signed off on the bylaw in July.
The city said it's been engaging with businesses and stakeholders on reducing single-use items for the last five years. City staff on Thursday added they will conduct more outreach about the on-site dining requirement ahead of the 2026 implementation date.
Rory Tooke, Victoria's manager of sustainability, told council the city looked at other places that brought in similar dine-in rules. While there were some upfront costs for businesses, those were offset in under a year as eateries saved money from not having to buy disposable items, Tooke said.
He added many businesses around the city are already doing what the bylaw will eventually require.
The BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association thanked the city for working with the industry on the bylaw.
"The city team took a careful and cautious approach to developing a bylaw that is fair and addresses the importance of reducing single-use items," the association's president Ian Tostenson said in the city's news release. "We look forward to working with the city to continue to develop a thriving and growing restaurant industry."
The Victoria rules build on moves to tackle single-use plastics by the B.C. and federal governments.
The province banned plastic utensils last year and prohibited plastic shopping bags and some other materials in July.
