Toronto Orders Coffee Shops To Develop Recyclable Cup Lid

November 13, 2008 5:53 p.m. EST

Toronto, Ontario (AHN) - The Toronto City Council gave coffee shops until April to come up with recyclable cup lids so that both the paper cup and its cover could be accepted by the city's recycling program.

The reprieve came after 11 hours of meeting between the city council and restaurant industry representatives Wednesday. The dining establishments tried to block the move because they claimed there is no suitable paper material that could serve as lead to throwaway cups.

About a million coffee cups are thrown daily in Toronto's landfill.

Aside from temporarily settling the coffee lid problem, the city council is pushing for retailers to give shoppers a 10-cent refund if the bring their own bag instead of getting a plastic shopping bag and a 20-cent refund for fast food diners who bring in their own mugs for takeout coffee.

Kim McKinnon, vice president of the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, estimated the 10-cent refund will collectively cost Toronto grocery shops $88 million per annum, which it will pass on to consumers. She threatened to file a lawsuit against the council if it will mandate the refund which McKinnon contends is an indirect tax.