Tofino residents have long been frontrunners in the fight against plastic pollution, and a new bylaw banning plastic water bottles is the latest win. Photo: Unsplash
Tofino, the tiny logging town turned surf town at the end of the road on Vancouver Island, recently announced that single-use plastic water bottles that measure one liter or less are banned. It’s the first municipality in all of Canada to take such a step, and it’s not a surprise. Residents of Tofino love where they live and play, and for the most part, they do their very best to protect it.
The new rule was formally adopted on August 26, but it doesn’t come into effect until April 22, 2026, which also happens to be Earth Day.
“By eliminating single-use plastic water bottles 1-liter and less, Tofino is taking another meaningful step to protect our oceans, beaches, and wildlife from plastic waste,” said Tofino Mayor Dan Law in a statement Thursday.
There will be a few exceptions to the bylaw, however — they’ll be allowed if the water bottles are sold in packages for the Emergency Operations Center and if Stage 3 water conservation restrictions are put in place.
“This bylaw reflects our shared responsibility to the environment and to future generations and demonstrates what’s possible when communities strive for sustainability,” Law continued.
Tofino has long been a place that puts the environment and sustainability first. In 2022, it banned many single-use plastics.
If you search hard enough along almost any shoreline on Earth these days, you’ll find a bit of plastic somewhere. Plastic water bottles are a big part of that, and the Tofino district hopes this ban will reduce that.
“According to the Ocean Legacy Foundation, more than 1 million single-use plastic bottles go missing each year in B.C.,” the municipality said. “Since 2015, over 60,000 bottles have been recovered from Vancouver Island’s west coast beaches. Once in the marine environment, plastic bottles break down into microplastics, which pose serious risks to marine life and ecosystems.”
Surfrider’s Pacific Rim chapter, as you’d expect, was happy about the new bylaw.
“Surfrider Pacific Rim is thrilled to make history once again with the District of Tofino, through this landmark ban on single-use plastic water bottles one liter and under,” said Lilly Woodbury, regional chapter manager for Surfrider Foundation Canada. “This community-driven achievement has been many years in the making, and it marks another step forward in tackling the plastic pollution crisis through systems of refill and reuse.
