The City of Victoria is tackling the problem of single-use cups filling the city’s garbage cans by trying to convince coffee and tea drinkers to bring their own mugs to local cafés.
The city has launched a contest that gives those who bring their own cups to one of 22 participating cafés a chance to win a “zero-waste” kit worth $100.
“The most sustainable cup is the one you already own,” said Rory Tooke, Victoria’s manager of sustainability, who says coffee cups continue to be the most common single-use item in the city’s garbage.
Approximately 7,000 single-use cups are collected from public waste bins every day in Victoria, the city says.
Residents can pick up a wallet-sized stamp card from city hall or any of the 22 participating business locations. Each time they use their own reusable cup at participating cafés between Sept. 17 and Oct. 18, they get a stamp, which doubles as an entry into the draw to win one of five zero-waste kits.
The kits include gift cards and reusable products that will help reduce waste from other everyday activities.
“Victoria residents have made bringing their own bag a common practice and now it’s time to reduce our reliance on disposable cups,” Shane Devereaux, owner of Habit Coffee — one of the participating cafés — said in a statement from the city.
The initiative is part of Zero Waste Victoria, the city’s plan to reduce the volume of waste sent to the landfill by 50 per cent by 2040.
The recent adoption of the Single-Use Items Reduction Bylaw requires restaurants to serve customers dining on-site with reusable dishware and cutlery by March 2026.
For more information about the contest, including a list of participating businesses, go to victoria.ca/reuse, or contact city staff at [email protected].
