Canada/In Toronto, disposable utensils now available "on request" only
Toronto shops and restaurants selling takeaway food must now ask their customers if they would like paper bags, disposable utensils, paper napkins or ketchup sachets before handing them out.
The new bylaw represents an evolution in the City of Toronto's strategy to reduce the use of single-use items. The first phase of the project, adopted by City Council in 2018, relied solely on voluntary gestures.
Retailers could then choose to offer these utensils rather than provide them spontaneously, as well as accept cups from customers. They are now obliged to do so.
Organizations promoting waste reduction welcome this positive development, which they believe calls for more ambitious action in future phase 3. Restaurateurs, for their part, are satisfied with these limited changes. However, they would like to see a little flexibility in the event of implementation challenges.
Toronto early, then late
For Emily Alfred, anti-waste officer at activist organization Toronto Environmental Alliance, it was about time city councillors voted in favor of Phase 2 last December. Toronto undertook a strategic plan to reduce single-use waste, and other cities started later, but went much further, she says.
According to her, consultations and surveys show that 70% of customers say they don't want accessories when they're given them. She believes that this simple regulation makes it easier to say "no thanks" and could reduce this usage by 70%.
Maximilien Roy, vice-president of government affairs for Restaurants Canada, the national restaurant association, is generally satisfied with the City of Toronto's approach.
In his opinion, only small, more technical issues could justify adjustments if difficulties are encountered in the first few weeks, for example with paper bags. But he feels that restaurants are relatively ready.
Solutions and disappointments
Megan Takeda-Tully is the founder of Suppli, a start-up offering reusable containers to restaurateurs and caterers.
Based on a deposit-refund model, individuals can return the containers to around 50 locations, while businesses can take advantage of the company's professional premises.
I understand the city's reasoning," she explains, "but we were hoping for more in the way of cups and food containers. Megan Takeda-Tully believes that positive options for businesses now exist and just need to become more widespread.
I think there's a big market for reusable tableware," she says. At her company's partner establishments, 10 to 12% of customers request a washable container, despite a small fee ($0.75), and return it within two weeks.
Quentin de Becker, a member of Scarborough Zero Waste, who took part in the municipal consultations on the bylaw, regrets what he sees as a somewhat political renunciation, which undermines the effectiveness of the measure.
We felt that when these are big companies, they had a bit of a status, an exemption," he says. In particular, he deplores the fact that the "ask first" principle does not apply to beverage cups.
Our group is pleased that the political world has taken action," he sums up. But we think the city could have been a little bolder.
More ambitious action from 2025?
While there is a relative consensus on stage 2, which is still relatively non-binding, moving on to the next stage may prove trickier. At the heart of the debate was whether or not restaurants should be obliged to accept reusable containers.
Maximilien Roy explains that the industry won this concession by arguing on hygiene grounds. What do we do if a container isn't clean? he asks. Can the restaurant say 'no, we're not going to put your drink in this glass'?
He even raises the question of legal liability in the event of contamination. For Megan Takeda-Tully, these problems are dealt with by a company like hers: We take back all our containers so that they can be cleaned and disinfected according to professional standards.
Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/
