Want ketchup with those fries? Better get used to specifically asking for it the next time you have a hankering for spuds.That’s because Calgary shoppers and diners — even drive-thru patrons — will be paying a little more for the luxury of napkins, straws, stir-stix and even ketchup packets after the city’s new single-use bylaw comes into effect.Starting Tuesday, retailers, grocers, cafes and even takeout restaurants will be required to charge a minimum of 15 cents for every paper bag they give out — plastic bags are banned — and a dollar for each reusable cloth bag. The bylaw also requires businesses only supply ‘food ware accessories’ such as plastic forks and condiments unless specifically asked.And those fees will only increase in 2025..Last year, city council passed the bylaw as a way to limit single-use items that wind up in landfills by a 10-4 margin. City officials say the bylaw is needed to bring Calgary in line with other municipalities — Edmonton and Banff — that have similar condiment ordinances and reduce the amount of trash in landfills.Edmonton’s bylaw, which came into effect on July 1 of last year, also bans foam food containers and forces restaurants to serve dine-in customers beverages in reusable cups. In addition, they must have a policy for accepting customers’ reusable containers.That in turn has led to higher take out prices, with some restaurants not offering take out orders at all. By some estimates, packaging is about 20% of the cost of the entire meal..Undeterred, Calgary council has prioritized plastics over other pressing issues such as property taxes and councillor salaries — which heads to a vote today.Sharon Howland, the head of the City of Calgary's waste and recycling services, told the CBC the bylaw is meant to reduce the use of all single-use items and not just plastics. "How many times have you received a takeout order and the bag is filled with a handful of ketchup packets, napkins, utensils that you don't actually need? Often these items are dumped straight into the garbage bin, unused."
