Vancouver will start charging more for shopping bags

One year after putting a ban on single-use plastic bags, Vancouver will require businesses to charge more for paper and reusable bags.

As of January 1, consumers will now have to spend at least $2 for a new reusable bag and a minimum of 25 cents for a paper bag, instead of 15 cents and $1, respectively.

When the city of Vancouver announced its ban on plastic shopping bags in January 2022, Monica Kosmak, senior project manager for single-use goods, indicated the first year's levies would be reduced to help get people adjusted to the change.

"The fees are really designed to give shoppers that incentive to bring and use their own bag as much as possible," she said. "I do think that the higher fees will help remind shoppers to bring their own reusable bags as much as possible."

In order to lessen the quantity of single-use shopping bags that accumulate in nearby landfills, Victoria became the first city in British Columbia to implement a bylaw prohibiting plastic bags in July 2018. Before it was permanently implemented in April 2021, it was the subject of a legal dispute. 

Vancouver modeled its own ban on Victoria's framework and now at least 21 B.C. municipalities, representing more than 40 per cent of the province's population, have approved bylaws or will have them in place in 2023, according to B.C.'s Ministry of Environment.

According to Kosmak, Vancouver's charge structure has been modified to bring it into line with the fees levied by the majority of other cities.

Industry concerns

The Retail Council of Canada's Greg Wilson, a director from British Columbia, said that while the organization's members usually support efforts to reduce plastic pollution, the price increase for paper and reusable bags comes at a time when consumers are under severe economic pressure.

"The fees are disproportionately impactful to people who can least afford it and therefore we think it's important to keep the fee as affordable as possible," he said.

For charities and non-profits, costs for paper bags and reusable bags are waived under Vancouver's ordinances.

Additionally, it conducts projects that provide those in need of free bags.

"We are working to minimize potential impact to residents with low incomes and people experiencing homelessness with these increased fees," said Kosmak.

Wilson added that the bag bylaws are not entirely harmonized, which means that firms operating in various areas must adhere to various restrictions.

"There's a cost to that and a complication to that," he said. "Particularly for small retail businesses."

Businesses keep the money they make from selling paper bags and reusable bags, but cities like Vancouver do not keep track of how much money they have made over the previous year. According to Wilson, some firms have donated the money to nearby organizations, while others have used it to cover other expenses.

Upcoming provincial and federal restrictions

The British Columbian government has pledged to implement a province-wide ban on plastic bags this year, with rates for paper bags and new reusable bags set at 25 cents and $2, respectively.

Wilson says the legislation is expected sometime in the spring.

A government ban on the production and import of some single-use plastics, such shopping bags, went into effect in December. By December 2023, all sales of the products in Canada will be prohibited.

TLPPACKAGING FOR SHOPPING BAGS