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New minimum fees for bags take effect July 1:
Edmonton’s Single-use Item Reduction Bylaw (20117) helps reduce waste by targeting items that can easily be replaced with reusable options or avoided altogether.
Some exemptions exist for charities, organizations without a business licence and some types of businesses.
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Minimum fees for shopping bags will increase on July 1, 2024 to 25 cents for a paper bag and $2 for a new reusable bag. Businesses will continue to charge GST where required.
Single-use plastic shopping bags (including compostable or biodegradable plastic shopping bags) can no longer be distributed. Businesses must charge a minimum fee for paper shopping bags and new reusable shopping bags (including those provided by restaurants for take-out orders).
Note: Businesses keep these fees.
The fee serves 2 purposes:
The bylaw does not apply to bags used for containing these types of items:
It also does not apply to bags used solely to protect dry cleaned clothes, newspapers, plants and other types of items that might become dirty or unusable from exposure.
Restaurants are expected to serve dine-in drink orders in reusable cups and have a written policy for accepting reusable customer cups.
Reusable cups are made from durable materials like metal, ceramic or hard plastic, and can withstand repeated washing, sanitizing and use.
Drive-thrus are encouraged, but not required, to accept reusable cups. If you feel it would not be safe or sanitary to fill a customer’s own reusable cup, you can politely refuse it.
Some restaurants hold food handling permits that require single-use cups. These permits must be posted in a visible location.
Accessories such as utensils, straws, condiment packets and napkins will only be available by request or self-serve.
Federal Exemption for Single-use Plastic Flexible Straws
To ensure accessibility, Canada’s Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations allow the manufacture, import and sale of flexible straws under certain conditions. Learn more about the federal regulation.
Fast food (or “quick service”) restaurants face unique challenges when it comes to reducing waste. Part of their appeal is speed and convenience, which can make the shift to reusable cups, bags and containers more challenging.
This section includes tools and best practices to help quick service restaurants safely comply with the bylaw without sacrificing the “fast” in “fast food.”
Review these documents with your staff and post for their reference.
Best Practices: includes best practices identified by local fast food restaurant employees
Scripts for Customer Interactions: post on a wall or counter for employees to reference when speaking with customers
Employee-facing Drive-thru Poster: post in your drive-thru so customers know what to expect.
Alberta Health Services’ resources for dishwashing and sanitization:
Dishwashing Requirements
2-Sink Dishwashing Poster
3-Sink Dishwashing Poster
Post to help customers know what to expect:
Bag Fee Increase
Using Reusable Bags For Food
Safely Using Drink Dispensers
Safely Using Customers’ Reusable Cups
Bylaw Overview
Drive-Thru Poster
Restaurant employees should ask every customer the following questions:
Do you need a bag?
Do you need straws, napkins, utensils or condiments?
Restaurants are not required to accept reusable cups through drive-thrus, but are encouraged to do so. If you feel it would not be safe or sanitary to fill a customer’s own reusable cup, you can politely refuse it.
Display this poster where employees can see it to help remind them of these questions.
Display this poster where customers can see it so they know what to expect.
If your business currently uses foam cups, plates or containers, consult the Sustainable Food Service Guide to find a suitable substitute.
Once you’ve determined what type of cups and containers work best for your business, find a supplier.
View list of Food Serviceware Suppliers
This list is open to all vendors who sell alternatives to banned items. The City has compiled this information for ease of reference, but makes no guarantees regarding quality or availability, and does not recommend any supplier over another.
If you are a supplier of food serviceware and you want to be added to this list, please email singleuse@edmonton.ca.
Events expecting more than 1,500 attendees are required to comply with these parts of the bylaw:
If the event is organized by a charity or community organization, different rules may apply. Check out the Charities Toolkit for more information.
Events are not required to charge the minimum fee for paper or new reusable bags, or serve dine-in drinks in reusable cups.
Event vendors (such as food vendors) must also comply with the bylaw.
If your business is following proper health and safety protocols, you can safely use reusable bags, cups and containers. Most ready-to-consume food is in a bag or wrapping, so a customer’s reusable bag will not touch the food. Learn more about best practices for using customers’ reusable bags, cups and containers in the Best Practice Guide.
General Tips:
For more information, please review Alberta Health Services’ Practices that Support the Safe Use of Reusable Food Containers. It includes recommendations for safely using customers’ cups and containers in a variety of scenarios.
