With millions of coffee cups thrown away each week in Vancouver, the city is mulling a ban on single-use coffee cups, and other disposable items cluttering up trash cans.
City staff have been researching ways to reduce disposable cups, foam takeout containers and plastic bags since February of 2016. That process included meeting with stakeholders and conversations with Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver Aquarium oceans plastic researchers, packaging suppliers, recyclers, composters and local governments.
But next week formal strategies to reduce waste will go before city council, and could include an outright ban on single-use coffee cups.
A recently released staff report says that disposable cups, lids and sleeves make up 22 per cent of large litter items and are among the most commonly littered items on city streets.
Those cups make up 50 per cent of the volume of waste in street litter cans, and cost $2.5-million annually to collect from streets, sidewalks and litter bins, the report says.
The city is also looking to reduce the number of paper and plastic shopping bags and takeout food containers, but recognizes that any initiatives will "affect almost all consumers and over 10,000 businesses in Vancouver."
City council has "considerable legislative authority" to stop businesses from distributing certain types of packaging, including cups and takeout containers that will end up in the waste bin, says the report.
It also has the authority to require businesses to ensure their single-use packaging is either compostable or recyclable or provide on-site recycling programs, the document adds.
During its deep-dive into how to reduce waste from plastic bags, cups and food containers, staff looked at how other jurisdictions are tackling the issue, including a coffee "mug-share program" in Germany that operates similar to a bike share, but for travel mugs.
The city report suggests that further dialogue is needed to reach a long-term sustainable solution. It will hold public consultations over the summer to "educate and connect with the public" and release a public input Talk Vancouver survey in September.
The cost of the public consultations and reports will be funded through the City of Vancouver's solid waste operating budget.
Vancouver has a long-term goal of going zero waste through its Greenest City 2020 Action Plan.