Background
Single-use item reduction is a priority across the region and many local governments are taking action to reduce these items. Several factors are driving action:
- Costs taxpayers millions annually to collect from public spaces
- Prevalent in marine litter
- Not commonly recycled or reused
Single-use item toolkit
Metro Vancouver developed a Single-Use Item Toolkit to provide local governments with single-use item reduction resources and best practices to support them in their initiatives. This resource provides information on a range of policy options for local governments in Metro Vancouver to consider in the development of their own approaches. The toolkit focuses on priority single-use items identified by the Metro Vancouver Board, including, bags, cups, takeout containers, straws and utensils. Additional resources, including a jurisdictional scan and an annotated bibliography of leading research are available below.