You will soon be able to bring the reusable cup back to Starbucks.
The coffee giant announced on Tuesday that beginning June 22, the company's US-operated stores will "safely reintroduce personal reusable cups."
This move came more than 15 months after Starbucks temporarily restricted personal cups at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
The company said in a statement: “Recycling personal reusable cups is a key part of Starbucks’ continued commitment to reduce waste of disposable cups and to reduce waste by 50% by 2030.”
But the return of the cup brought some changes. Initially, the restaurant’s drive-through service did not accept them.
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Only clean cups are accepted in the store, and the barista will not clean them for customers.
Starbucks stated that it has “conducted extensive trials in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region, and adopted this new process, using ceramic cups to transport reusable cups through the bar” to “reintroduce re-introduction with confidence. Reusable cup". It is testing drive-through options.
The chain provided optional masks to fully vaccinated customers on May 17, unless local or state regulations require masks. The update was released after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new mask guidelines last month.
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Before the pandemic and since the 1980s, Starbucks stated that it had offered discounts to customers, allowing customers to use their own cups or the restaurant's reusable "For Here Ware" during meals.
Starbucks said on Tuesday that it will restore a 10 cent discount on reusable cups to “encourage customers to choose reusable cups and reduce the waste of disposable cups.” It will also restore “For Here Ware” for in-store customers who provide indoor dining. ".
Before COVID, Starbucks stated that 80% of its beverages were ordered, but most were “supplied in disposable cups, and due to the limitations of waste disposal infrastructure, only a small amount was recycled or composted.”
Over the years, the company has been committed to creating a more sustainable cup, and in 2018, together with McDonald's, and Closed Loop Partners invested 10 million US dollars to establish the NextGen Consortium and Cup Challenge. Starbucks has also been researching and testing solutions to make cups, lids and straws easier to recycle and compost.
In April of this year, Starbucks launched a "borrow a cup" trial program in five Seattle stores, allowing customers to order beverages in reusable cups with a deposit of $1. Once they returned the cup, they received $1 and 10 bonus points through the chain's loyalty program.
The plan lasted until May 31, and officials told USA Today that the company was “learning lessons from the pilot to adapt to the plan and continue to develop for the future.”
Last week, Starbucks announced that it will provide reusable cup sharing programs in all stores in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by 2025. In July, Starbucks Korea will launch a loan cup program in stores, and recently promised to pass 2025.
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