Five years ago, we started our mission to inspire businesses to accept reusable cups, bags and containers and to inspire customers to bring their own reusables.
On March 1st, the City of Toronto is making part of that vision a reality. On that day, a new City bylaw – the Single-Use Takeaway Items Bylaw – comes into effect. Among other new requirements for retail businesses, this bylaw requires all businesses that serve beverages to accept reusable cups!
To mark this important day, Canada Reduces has organized Reusable Cup Day. Reduces groups from across the city are asking their local businesses to support the new bylaw by encouraging their customers to bring in their reusable cups. The groups equip businesses with signs that promote the new requirement and are also offering reusable cups that businesses can give away to their customers.
Under the new bylaw, business will also be required to:
use an “ask first/by request” approach for most single-use items (including straws, napkins, utensils and condiment packages);
accept reusable shopping bags; and
ask before providing customers with paper shopping bags (in most circumstances), and to only use paper bags that can be recycled (i.e., no metal grommets or plastic handles)
The City will help businesses to comply with these new requirements through the use of targeted education and outreach, and in partnership with local BIAs and other community partners.
Over 1.6 billion disposable cups flood Canada’s landfills every year. Reusables present one of our best opportunities to prevent waste and other impacts of single use packaging, and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45%. If just one out of every 10 of us that buy coffee switched to BYO, it would make a real difference – saving over 160 million single-use cups per year.
This bylaw has the potential to usher in a new era of sustainability in Toronto, where more and more people and businesses adopt BYO–not just with coffee cups but other single-use items as well. The potential for BYO and other reusable takeaway options to make a meaningful difference in our waste output – to the benefit of our planet, our health and our finances – is huge.
For more information on the new bylaw and the City’s approach for reducing single-use and takeaway items, visit: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/recycling-organics-garbage/long-term-waste-strategy/reducing-single-use-takeaway-items/
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you that have supported the movement towards a more sustainable world. And a special thanks to the cafes helping to celebrate (with signage and/or cups):
A&W (Queen and Spadina)
The Abott
AM Bagel
AM Coffee Studio
Berkeley Cafe
Black Canary
Burrito Boyz (Roncesvalles)
Caffeine Eatery & Espresso (Victoria Terrasse)
Cherry Bomb Coffee
Chick-Fil-A (Queen and Spadina)
The Chocolateria
Coffee and All That Jazz
Dipped Donuts (Queen St W)
Extra Butter Coffee
Fantail
French Made (King and Blue Jays Way)
Grocery Coffee
Harvey's (Queen and Denison)
I Deal Coffee and Wine
I Deal Coffee on the Park
Luba's Coffee Boutique
Mabel's Bakery & Specialty Foods
McDonald's (Queen and Spadina)
Neo Coffee Bar (King and Spadina)
Osprey Cafe
Quantum Coffee (The Well)
Regent Park Cafe
Rooster Coffee House
The Goods
Tim Hortons (Roncesvalles)
Village Juicery
While there’s still much work to be done, please join us in celebrating this important step forward – on March 1st and beyond!
Photo by Bluewater Sweden on Unsplash