In the future, the Starbucks in people's hands will still be printed with the classic mermaid logo, but they will no longer be disposable paper cups. From August 14th to October 22nd this year, 12 Starbucks stores in Napa and Petaluma, California, are conducting a reusable cup trial project. The stores will provide reusable cups, and customers can also Bring your own cup and enjoy discounts.
The Associated Press reported that Starbucks ultimately plans to completely phase out disposable paper cups by 2030 and promote recyclable cup rental services globally.
Say goodbye to disposable paper cups in 2030
According to the US newspaper "The Messenger", Americans use about 130 billion disposable cups every year, of which about 50 billion are paper coffee cups. Starbucks' disposable paper cups have become a part of consumers' lives, but in a few years, Starbucks will stop using them entirely. In fact, the "Associated Press" reported that Starbucks said as early as 2008 that it hoped that all cups would be recyclable or reusable by 2015, but it is still far away from achieving the goal.
Starbucks pointed out that in view of the circular economy as the future trend, Starbucks is gradually phasing out single-use plastics, supporting the use of recycled materials, and promoting recycling. Starbucks plans to extend the recyclable cup service to more branches and learn from it how to use a convenient, easy and fun way to encourage consumers to abandon disposable takeaway cups and switch to reusable cups. Starbucks hopes to reduce its carbon footprint, water consumption and waste by half by 2030.
"Borrow a cup" Starbucks launches revolving cup service in the United States
Starbucks has been actively promoting a revolving cup service called "Borrow A Cup" in recent years. Currently being tested in some areas of the United States, if a customer forgets to bring a cup, they can borrow a Starbucks recycling cup and receive a $1 discount upon return. The results of the trial will be partnered with "TURN Systems", a company specializing in recycling systems, to better understand customers' behavior patterns when returning cups.
Starbucks Chief Sustainability Officer Michael Kobori said that in the future, they will just change from paper cups to reusable recycling cups, which will still have the classic Starbucks logo printed on them.
In addition, Starbucks also cooperated with the Circular Living Lab of Arizona State University to select some cups that were too damaged and not suitable for reuse and sent them to the laboratory for recycling, where they were ground, melted and extruded into strips. Plastic sheets can be made into recycling cup recycling bins.
This environmentally friendly strategy has been questioned by some customers. According to "Delish" reports, in addition to concerns about the hygiene of recirculating cups, there are also customers who find it troublesome. The recirculating cup service may still work in a small number of urban areas, but outside the city, it may not be possible.
In addition, some customers also said that collecting, transporting and cleaning recycled cups is actually more harmful to the environment than manufacturing and transporting new paper cups. However, some supporters believe that this policy can protect the environment and should be implemented long ago.
References:
*Associated Press (September 15, 2023) Citing sustainability, Starbucks wants to overhaul its iconic cup. Will customers go along?
*Delish (September 16, 2023), Starbucks Plans To Stop Using Disposable Cups By 2030
*kron4 (August 16, 2023), Starbucks no longer offers disposable cups at these North Bay locations
*The Messenger (September 16, 2023), The Beginning of the End of Starbucks Paper Cups?
Source: Environmental Information Center
