Canada's plastic ban: what delivery restaurants need to know

A Canadian restaurant in Montreal operates under different packaging rules than one in Toronto, Edmonton, or rural Alberta. The federal Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations set the floor, but provinces and municipalities have layered their own restrictions on top. For independent operators running delivery and takeout, this regulatory patchwork directly affects what you can put food in, what it costs, and whether your packaging even gets composted at the other end.

This is the complete breakdown: federal rules, provincial additions, municipal surprises, cost impact, and what to actually do about it.

What the federal ban actually covers

The Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations (SOR/2022-138) ban six categories of items for manufacture, import, and sale in Canada:

1. Checkout bags (the thin plastic ones)
2. Cutlery (knives, forks, spoons, sporks, chopsticks)
3. Stir sticks
4. Straws (straight straws banned; flexible straws available on request for accessibility)
5. Ring carriers (six-pack rings)
6. Foodservice ware made from expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam), extruded polystyrene, PVC, carbon black, or oxo-degradable plastic (clamshells, cups, plates, bowls, lidded containers)

The sale ban has been fully in effect since December 20, 2023, with ring carriers and pre-packaged flexible straws following in June 2024.

What's still permitted: PET and polypropylene containers are fine. Paper, wood, and moulded fibre alternatives are fine. Reusable plastic versions of banned items are allowed if they survive 100 dishwasher cycles in lab testing. Flexible straws sold individually (not pre-packaged with a juice box) can be kept behind the counter and provided on request.

The export ban, originally set for December 2025, was repealed by the government citing tariff pressures and economic conditions. Domestic bans are unaffected.

Is the ban still legally valid?

Yes. The plastics industry challenged the regulations in court, arguing that listing all "plastic manufactured items" as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act was too broad. In November 2023, the Federal Court agreed and struck down the legal foundation.

But the Federal Court of Appeal reversed that decision unanimously on January 30, 2026, ruling that CEPA's definition of "substance" is intentionally broad and that 29 kilotonnes of plastic entering Canadian environments annually is sufficient evidence of harm. The regulations remain in full force. A Supreme Court leave application is theoretically possible before March 31, 2026, but the domestic rules stay operative regardless.

For operators, this means: the federal ban is not going away. Plan accordingly.

Where provinces and cities go further

Here's where it gets complicated. Several jurisdictions have added rules that go beyond what the federal government requires.

British Columbia: the strictest province

BC's Single-Use and Plastic Waste Prevention Regulation is the most restrictive provincial framework in Canada. Three key differences from federal:

• Compostable plastics banned in foodservice ware. The federal ban only targets specific problematic plastics (Styrofoam, PVC, etc.). BC bans compostable and biodegradable plastics in bowls, cups, containers, plates, and trays too. If you switched from Styrofoam to compostable plastic clamshells, those are also prohibited in BC.
• All accessories request-only. Not just straws. Condiments, napkins, cup sleeves, garnishes, wet wipes: all request-only or self-serve.
• Plastic utensils fully banned. No on-request exception. They cannot be distributed at all.

Paper or plant fibre foodservice ware with a compostable plastic lining is still allowed. Plastic cup lids for delivery drinks are permitted. Penalties run up to $40,000.

What to do: If you operate in BC, your packaging must be plant fibre, paper, or bagasse. Compostable plastics are not a compliant shortcut here. Train delivery staff to include accessories only when the customer asks.

Montreal: the strictest municipality in Canada

Montreal's bylaw, effective March 28, 2023, goes further than anywhere else. It bans the distribution of single-use cups, straws, stir sticks, utensils, plates, trays, and containers regardless of material. Compostable, biodegradable, paper: if it's single-use, it's banned for in-house, takeout, and delivery.

The exception that matters: plastic-coated cardboard cups and containers (whether or not compostable) are exempt. That's why you still see coated paper cups everywhere in Montreal.

Another exception worth knowing: establishments that only do home delivery with no in-person pickup counter are exempt.

Fines range from $400 to $4,000. By March 2024, the city reported 92% compliance, with fewer than 40 tickets issued on second inspection visits.

What to do: If you're in Montreal, verify that every single-use item you distribute falls under the cardboard/paper exemption. Compostable plastic is not a solution here. Consider investing in reusable container programs for dine-in and regular pickup customers.

Toronto: ask first, then give

Toronto's Single-Use and Takeaway Items Bylaw, effective March 1, 2024, takes a behavioural approach. Restaurants must ask customers before providing any single-use accessory: utensils, straws, napkins, condiments, sauces. Self-serve stations count as asking.

Delivery operations are exempt from the ask-first rule for paper shopping bags (amendment effective May 2024). But the ask-first rule still applies to accessories included in delivery orders.

Fines are $500 after education and failed compliance attempts. The city reported a one-third reduction in single-use waste since implementation.

What to do: Don't auto-include cutlery, napkins, and condiments in delivery orders. Add a checkbox in your ordering flow, or default to "no accessories" unless the customer requests them.

Edmonton: comprehensive but municipal

Edmonton's Bylaw 20117 (effective July 2023) bans foam food containers, plastic cutlery, and plastic straws. All accessories are request-only for dine-in. Paper bags carry a $0.25 fee (revenue stays with the restaurant). Reusable bags carry a $2.00 fee.

Calgary had a similar policy but rescinded it in May 2024. Alberta's provincial government has actively opposed municipal plastic restrictions.

Atlantic Canada: early bag bans, federal rules for the rest

PEI was the first province to ban plastic bags (July 2019). Nova Scotia followed in October 2020, and Newfoundland the same year. All three include biodegradable and compostable bags in their bans. Beyond bags, these provinces rely on federal rules for foodservice items.

Nova Scotia rolled out Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging effective December 2025, which will increase costs for non-recyclable packaging through producer fees.

The rest: federal only

Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Ontario (at the provincial level) have no single-use plastic regulations beyond the federal ban. If you operate in these jurisdictions, the federal rules are your complete compliance checklist.

The compliance map at a glance

Jurisdiction	Beyond-federal bans?	Key rule for delivery restaurants
BC	Yes: compostable plastics, all accessories request-only	No compostable plastic containers. Accessories by request only.
Montreal	Yes: all single-use items regardless of material	Only coated cardboard/paper permitted. Delivery-only businesses exempt.
Toronto	Yes: ask-first for all accessories	Don't auto-include cutlery/napkins in delivery orders.
Edmonton	Yes: foam ban, bag fees, accessories request-only	No foam. $0.25 paper bag fee.
PEI / NS / NL	Bag bans only	No plastic bags. Federal rules cover everything else.
ON / AB / SK / MB / NB (provincial)	No	Federal rules only.

What compliant packaging actually costs

The cost premium is real, but it varies wildly by item. Here's what the numbers look like based on 2025 wholesale pricing data:

Item	Traditional plastic	Compliant alternative	Premium
9x6 clamshell container	$0.035-$0.045	Bagasse: $0.055-$0.065	+22-44%
3-compartment tray	$0.052	Bagasse: $0.068-$0.080	+31-54%
Cutlery set (fork/spoon/knife)	~$0.025	Cornstarch: $0.035-$0.045	+40-80%
Straws	$0.002-$0.004	Paper: $0.008-$0.015	+200-650%
Checkout bags	$0.008-$0.012	Paper: $0.15-$0.25	+1,150%

Restaurants Canada estimated a 125% total cost increase across the industry when accounting for materials, equipment changes, storage requirements, and operational adjustments. That number includes large chains who negotiate volume pricing. For a small independent ordering 1,000-5,000 units at a time, the premium sits at the higher end of each range.

The gap is narrowing. At volumes above 20,000 units, eco-friendly packaging costs only 5-7% more than traditional plastic. But most independents don't order at that volume, which means the cost burden falls disproportionately on the smallest operators.

The delivery squeeze: packaging meets commissions

Here's where the math gets painful for delivery restaurants specifically.

Delivery platforms charge 25-30% commission on every order. Packaging costs add another $2-5 per order depending on the items. Neither DoorDash, Uber Eats, nor SkipTheDishes offers any packaging support program, transition assistance, or commission adjustment tied to the plastic ban.

On a $35 delivery order at 25% commission with $3.50 in compliant packaging and 33% food cost:

Line item	Amount
Order total	$35.00
Platform commission (25%)	-$8.75
Food cost (33%)	-$11.55
Packaging	-$3.50
Restaurant keeps	$11.20

The same $35 order served in-house? No commission, no packaging. The restaurant keeps $23.45 after food cost. That's a $12.25 difference per order, and packaging accounts for roughly a third of it.

If your delivery packaging costs have jumped and your margins look thin, the Delivery Profitability Calculator can show you exactly where the breakeven sits for your specific numbers.

The composting problem nobody talks about

Here's a detail that makes the whole situation more frustrating: most Canadian municipalities cannot actually compost the "compostable" packaging restaurants are buying.

According to the Canada Plastics Pact's 2025 guidance, access to collection and processing infrastructure for certified compostable packaging is "minimal across Canada." Vancouver, Halifax, and parts of Montreal explicitly reject compostable packaging in their organic waste streams. Most municipal composting facilities only accept food scraps and yard waste.

The result: restaurants pay a premium for compostable containers that end up in landfill anyway. Bagasse (sugarcane fibre) and moulded pulp alternatives are more reliably processable because they're plant fibre, not compostable plastic. If your municipality doesn't accept compostable plastics in green bins, you're paying extra for a label, not an environmental outcome.

Six things to do right now

1. Know your jurisdiction. Your rules depend on where you operate. A restaurant in Vancouver, Montreal, and rural Manitoba face three different compliance requirements. Check the table above.

2. Audit your current packaging. Walk through every item in a typical delivery order. Flag anything that uses banned materials. If you're in BC or Montreal, flag compostable plastics too.

3. Switch to bagasse and moulded fibre over compostable plastic. It's more reliably compostable, more widely accepted in municipal programs, and increasingly cost-competitive.

4. Stop auto-including accessories in delivery orders. Many jurisdictions require this. Even where they don't, it saves money. Add a checkbox to your ordering flow.

5. Run the math on your delivery margins. If packaging cost increases have eroded your delivery margins, that's worth knowing before you commit to another year on the platforms. Our Delivery Profitability Calculator or the full commission breakdown can help.

6. Watch for Extended Producer Responsibility. Alberta's EPR launched April 2025. BC revised its program in August 2025. Ontario is coming in 2026. These will add registration, reporting, and fee obligations that compound the packaging cost pressure.

The plastic ban isn't going away. The costs are real. But the gap is closing, and operators who get ahead of compliance spend less time scrambling when the next layer of regulation arrives.

Sources: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Restaurants Canada, BC SUPWPR, Ville de Montreal, Canada Gazette, Bioleader Packaging, Canada Plastics Pact.

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