Some Starbucks Locations Making Major Change to Their Cups

Starbucks is hoping to lessen its impact on the planet. Three years after ditching plastic straws in favor of flat lids for some of its beverages, the beloved coffee chain is now looking to ditch its paper cups. Starbucks has expanded its “Borrow A Cup” pilot, which was first introduced in 2021, at some of its locations in California, where customers who order any of the chain’s drinks, including those on the 2023 fall menu, will get their beverage in a free, reusable to-go cup.

The 10-week initiative is currently being tested at 12 Starbucks stores in Napa and Petaluma through Oct. 22. During this period, customers are encouraged to use reusable cups. This can either be their own personal cup that they bring with them or reusable ceramic or glass cups that can be purchased in-store. Customers who forget to bring a cup with them will be offered a free Borrow A Cup from Starbucks, which can then be brought back during their next Starbucks visit and placed in a QR-code-enabled return bin. The cups will then be washed, rinsed, and sanitized in a custom mobile truck so that they can be reused.

To bring about the reusable initiative, Starbucks partnered with Turn Systems, a company that specializes in designing reuse systems. In a statement, Turn founder Ryan Everton said, “We’ve really been building the platform and backend that is needed for reuse at scale. Anyone can wash your cup, obviously, at home in your dishwasher or by hand. But when you talk about hundreds of thousands, up to millions of cups ‚ and Starbucks is going into the billions — you really need some technology in order to get us there.”

The Borrow a Cup initiative aligns with Starbucks’ commitment to reduce waste sent to landfills by cutting its waste footprint in half by 2030. Starbucks said that beginning in 2024, customers in all Starbucks stores across the U.S. and Canada will be able to bring their personal cups wherever they order, including in café, drive-thru or mobile orders and pay.

“Our latest round of reusables tests around the world contribute to our goal for all customer packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable in the future. We know our partners and customers care about the planet, and we’re proud to offer them ways to join us in making sustainable choices in their everyday lives,” Amelia Landers, vp, Business Strategy, Partner & Customer Solutions, said.

There’s also some incentive to take part in the Borrow a Cup initiative. Customers who bring their own cup with them will receive the standard $0.10 off with an additional 25 Bonus Stars for Starbucks Rewards members. Meanwhile, customers who return a borrowed cup will have the option to register online with TURN for a chance to win a prize.