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Starbucks Trials 'Borrow A Cup' Program In Hometown Seattle

by Rudy Sanchez on 04/09/2021 | 1 Minute Read

International coffee chain Starbucks sells a lot of cups of coffee. By its own estimate, Starbucks baristas dole out 6 billion cups annually, about 1% of the total cups served worldwide

Starbucks has committed to reducing its contribution to the amount of waste to the world by exploring a variety of solutions such as creating cups out of more sustainable materials, eliminating utensils like single-use plastic stirrers and straws, and exploring reusable cup models, the latter of which the chain is piloting in its hometown of Seattle starting this month.

Editorial photograph

The “Borrow a Cup” program is simple. Customers opt for a reusable cup when ordering, and they pay a $1 deposit which gets refunded when the guest returns the cup. Starbucks is also adding ten bonus stars to the customer’s Rewards account when they turn in the cup which is then cleaned and sanitized before putting it back into service.

One feature of this new reusable cup trial is that customers can return the container without an additional trip to the store. Starbucks partnered with area recycler Ridwell to collect cups from customers’ homes as part of its pickup program for items that are not recyclable curbside, such as batteries, styrofoam, light bulbs, and clothes. Ridwell then distributes the items to specialists that can process the items.

Starbuck’s Seattle trial is planned for the next two months. Synchronize your swatches.