Starbucks hopes to reduce its single-use cups by allowing customers to take out hot, iced, and blended beverages using their mugs or travel tumblers. The change took effect on January 3 at all company-owned Starbucks locations in the US and Canada (roughly 60% of locations).
Starbucks customers have had the option of using personal ceramic or glass cups since 1985 if customers stay on-site to drink the beverage. However, since most of their business is take-out service, according to their 2022 Sustainability Report, only 1.2% of the drinks sold are in reusable containers.
The company is counting on its customer’s passion for the planet to make the program successful. Before launching, the company piloted reusable or returnable cup programs through 20 Starbucks tests across North America, EMEA, and China Asia-Pacific and collected customer feedback. They also asked in-store employees for input regarding potential health and safety regulations, new customer signage, and employee training to plan the rollout.
Starbucks is a founding member of the NextGen Consortium. Since 2018, Starbucks has been working with other leading food and beverage companies, and World Wildlife Fund, to address single-use packaging. In 2022, Starbucks invested $5 million with NextGen Consortium to develop a more sustainable hot cup.
These initiatives align with Starbucks’ goals of reducing landfill waste by 50% by 2030, along with a shift from single-use to reusable packaging. Disposable cups currently account for 40% of Starbucks’s packaging output annually and 20% of its waste footprint.
Overall, Americans throw away around 50 billion coffee cups annually. Coffee cups are typically not recyclable in North America because of the polyethylene liner in the paper cup. The liner prevents the paper from getting soggy but contaminates the paper waste stream. Unless special technology is used, the liner flakes during recycling, clogging filters and shutting down equipment. So, most Material Recycling Facilities (MRF) send coffee cups to landfills.
In the United States, members of the Starbucks rewards program will receive extra points if they don’t use a single-use cup. And other locations are experimenting with various incentives. So the next time you head out for a Starbucks beverage, remember to pack your favorite, clean cup.
