Businesses in Guelph now required to accept reusable containers

A pile of reusable containers. (Photo by Magda Ehlers/Pexels)

Businesses in Guelph must now accept reusable containers from customers ordering food, under changes to the city’s Single Use Items Bylaw that came into effect Sept. 1.

The new rule means restaurants and other food-service businesses must allow customers to use their own durable, washable, and sanitized containers for meals eaten on-site or taken to go. Businesses can also provide their own reusable containers as an alternative.

The bylaw does not apply to food ordered at drive-through windows or through delivery.

Exemptions include charitable or non-profit organizations, hospitals and community care facilities, special events, self-service restaurants such as buffets and businesses that have developed their own reusable-container policies outlining limited conditions of non-compliance.

Health and safety recommendations for businesses were developed with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.

City staff said the change follows nearly a year of engagement with food-service operators after council directed further research in 2024. The bylaw amendments were approved by the Committee of the Whole on March 5 and ratified by council on March 25.

More details, including guidance for businesses, are available at guelph.ca/singleuseitems.