Single-Use Plastic Items

All business licence holders are required to comply with this bylaw.

Single-use plastic checkout bags, polystyrene foam service ware containers, plastic utensils, and plastic drinking straws.

The intent of this bylaw is to lessen the environmental harm caused by single-use plastic items.

The Single-Use Plastic Items Bylaw takes effect on January 1, 2023.  All business license holders will need to comply with the bylaw after this date.

No. This bylaw only applies to businesses. However, all organizations are encouraged to phase out the use of single-use plastic items.

All organizations that are required to hold a business licence within the Village must comply with the Single-Use Plastic Items Bylaw.  The bylaw applies to single-use plastic items used to deliver food, whether the item is supplied by the food delivery service or the food vendor.

No. The Single-Use Plastic Items Bylaw applies only to single-use plastic items provided with the sale of other products, food, and beverages.

Village staff are prioritizing outreach and education to ensure businesses have the support they need to comply with the bylaw.  Increasing levels of enforcement, including the issuance of fines, may be applied to address non-compliant operators if required. 

Yes. However, the Village may follow up with your business to ensure that the banned or non-compliant single-use items are phased out once your inventory is depleted.

Recycled paper and reusable bags are compliant with the bylaw. However, businesses must charge a minimum of $0.15 per paper bag and a minimum of $1.00 per reusable bag during the introductory period.  The rate will increase to $0.25 per paper bag and $2.00 per reusable bag in 2024. These charges are mandated by the Province.  However, business operators may exempt certain customers from these charges if these costs represent a financial burden to those people or their families.

Businesses must charge a fee for the provision of paper or reusable plastic bags to help disincentivize the use of alternative single-use packaging and products that carry different but still negative environmental impacts. Businesses retain the revenue from such sales.

To be considered a recycled paper bag it must contain at least 40% recycled paper content and have a reference printed on the outside of the bag to the applicable amount of recycled content with the world “recyclable”.

Paper and recyclable plastic containers are compliant with the bylaw, as long as they do not contain polystyrene foam.   This applies to all containers that are ordinarily provided for service of prepared food or beverages whether they are consumed on the premises, served as take-out or delivery, or packaged as leftovers.

Paper and plastic are not included in the bylaw at this time due to lack of provincial legislation.

Straws made from material other than plastic (including compostable or biodegradable plastic) may be provided to customers upon request.  Straws should not be left out except for at self-serve drink stations.  

All businesses are encouraged to have accessible straws available.  An accessible straw is made wholly from plastic, is not compostable or biodegradable, has a corrugated section that allows the straw to bend and maintain its position and is individually wrapped in paper.

Utensils made from material other than plastic (including compostable or biodegradable plastic) may be provided to customers upon request.

Yes.  This is the best option to reduce waste from single-use items.