Plastic straws/Shutterstock
Results of a new survey indicate that most Vancouverites are in favour of city council's decision to ban plastic straws, foam cups and containers by June 1, 2019.
The online survey conducted by Research Co. found that 85 per cent of Vancouver residents agree with the ban on distributing single-use plastic straws with appropriate exemption for those with disabilities that need to drink from a straw.
The same level of support (85 per cent) was found for banning foam cups and takeout containers and 84 per cent of survey respondents agreed with banning the distribution of single-use plastic utensils unless they are directly requested by customers.
An overwhelming 93 per cent of Vancouverites think it would be a 'very good' or 'good' idea to require restaurants and cafes to provide recycling options for their disposable cups.
Although 85 per cent of Vancouverites surveyed support a ban on foam cups but that number drops to 54 per cent for a ban on all disposable cups. One third or 33 per cent disagree that all disposable cups should be banned.
A slim majority or 55 per cent of Vancouverites think it would be a good idea for customers to pay an additional fee for using a disposable cup and over a third or 36 per cent believe an extra fee for a disposable cup would be a bad idea.
“There is a sizeable gender gap on this question,” says Mario Canseco, president of Research Co. “Support for charging additional fees on disposable beverage cups reaches 62 per cent among women, but only 49 per cent among men.”
The survey includes responses from 400 adults and was conducted from July 13 to July 16.
The City of Vancouver's single-use reduction strategy is part of a plan to become a zero waste city by 2040.
City staff will consult with businesses, community groups, persons with disabilities and other organizations and report back to council by December 31, 2018 with a plan on how to implement the straw ban.
The City of Vancouver joins a growing movement to ban single-use plastics. A&W has pledged to ban straws at all its locations by the end of 2018 and Starbucks plans to eliminate straws from all its locations by 2020.
Ikea has also committed to phasing out single-use plastic products by 2020.
