B.C. paper and reusable bag fees mandatory starting Monday [Video]

The price of forgetting to bring a bag when shopping is going up in B.C.

Beginning Monday, B.C. businesses must charge customers at least $2 for a new reusable bag and at least 25 cents for a paper bag at checkout.

The fees are part of the province’s ongoing efforts to eliminate single-use plastics and align with the federal government’s phaseout of the items.

Only shopping bags are subject to the fee requirement. Plastic bags provided by grocery stores for holding produce or bulk items are not subject to a fee, nor are small paper bags measuring less than 15 centimetres by 20 centimetres when lying flat.

Municipalities across B.C. have implemented their own regulations over the years, but plastic shopping bags were not banned province-wide until Dec. 20, 2023. That’s also when rules banning single-use plastic utensils in food service took effect.

Other food service accessories, including disposable wooden …