Calgary's single-use items bylaw repealed, businesses no longer required to charge bag fee

Calgary city council has repealed the single-use items bylaw, which means businesses will no longer be required to collect a fee from customers for single-use or reusable bags.

The goal of the bylaw, passed in January 2023, was to limit the amount of single-use items that end up in city landfills. 

According to a 2019 City of Calgary study, over 3.5 million plastic bags, 6.4 million disposable utensils, 2.4 million takeout containers and 2.4 million disposable cups were thrown away every week in Calgary. The bylaw emulated similar legislation that had been brought forth in other Canadian cities.

The bylaw came into effect on Jan. 16, and it required businesses to not provide foodware, straws and other single-use items unless customers asked for them. It also required companies to charge 15 cents for a single-use bag and $1 for a reusable bag. These prices were scheduled to rise to 25 cents and $2, respectively, starting in 2025.

It was immediately contentious — particularly regarding drive-thru service — and even drew criticism from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who blasted the bylaw in a Calgary Herald column. She encouraged residents to call their city councillors.

Just two weeks after the bylaw came into effect, city council voted on Jan. 30 to start the repeal process due to what councillors acknowledged as pushback from the public. 

Bylaw repealed 12-3, effective immediately

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says city council doesn't always get things right but "will do better next time."

"I think behaviour change is an important component here. But how you drive that behaviour change is even more important," said Gondek. "So it was clear that using the approach of a charge, especially at food service locations, was not the way that Calgarians were going to engage with us on this."

"We've repealed a bylaw that wasn't working for our citizens."

Three councillors voted against the repeal:

• Courtney Walcott, Ward 8.
• Gian-Carlo Carra, Ward 9.
• Kourtney Penner, Ward 11.

Walcott believes waste management changes require time to roll out and inform citizens.

"There's a massive pushback about behaviour change at the beginning, and when given time, we're able to make the adjustment as necessary," he told reporters at city hall following the vote.

"Everything takes time. And two weeks was not enough time to even inform people."

Meanwhile, Coun. Jennifer Wyness, who opposed the bylaw from Day 1, said the repeal shows that the city needs to do a better job of engaging with residents.

"We go out with a solution without asking Calgarians, 'how do we make this better?' And then incorporate that feedback into whatever [decision] administration is making," she said.

Repeal process, public hearing

The repeal process for the bylaw required a 90-day notification and advertising period, plus a public hearing, which took less than two hours to complete on Tuesday. Council heard from five members of the public.

City administration was able to answer questions from councillors before the vote.

"We've heard from businesses directly who have called in to 311," said Sharon Howland, leader of program management for the city's waste and recycling services. 

"We do know that, for some Calgarians, the bylaw requirements have not resonated."

When asked if they have been collecting data on the bylaw's effectiveness since it came into effect in January, city administration could not provide any specific numbers. However, Howland said they have been listening to anecdotal feedback.

She said she spoke with a number of businesses who were "surprisingly pleased" with the bylaw, including a liquor store owner in Ogden.

"He called to update me to say that he went from using 2,000 plastic bags prior to the bylaw — and of course the federal regulation had come into effect a month before our bylaw — to now using 100 paper bags per month."

But not every business owner feels the same.

Francine Gomes, co-owner of Cluck 'N' Clever, a local restaurant with two locations in Calgary, says the bylaw didn't impact her business either way.

"I'm indifferent about it. I think the rollout was a little premature ... There are a few things that weren't thought through when they implemented it," she told CBC News in an interview.

"The cost of the bags were rolled into our pricing anyway. It's the cost of doing business, right. So it's not like collecting 15 cents was going to help the businesses in any way."

Gomes also believes that restaurants should be asking customers if they need napkins or cutlery, bylaw or not.

Federal ban on plastics

While businesses are also no longer required by law to charge a fee for bags, they still can if they choose to.

The repeal of this bylaw does not mean that businesses will be able to use single-use plastics that fall under the federal government's Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations, which were rolled out in late 2022. 

The Canadian government's regulations banned the manufacture, import and sale of several single-use plastics, including bags. While these regulations are being contested in court, for now they remain in effect.