In restaurants, we reuse utensils, dishes and cups, so why don’t we practice these kinds of methods at a local Starbucks? Not only did the creation of their nitro lid— a way customers can sip through the cup without using a straw—make some progress in the elimination of plastic waste, but now it is time for even more change. In the hope of becoming more sustainable, Starbucks is in the midst of testing a new cycle with their reusable cup system that is being tested in five different Starbucks locations such as Vancouver, San Francisco, New York, London and Seattle.
The main premise behind the reusable cups is that you ‘borrow’ a cup, receive a drink you order in the cup and then the next time you visit to bring it back to the store where it gets professionally sanitized, readying it for usage for the next time. After returning the cup, you are given an additional 10-star bonus awarded to your Starbucks account on the app. While it seems like they may have a nice layout and execution for this newfound system, it is receiving lots of criticism online.
Many question if the customers would keep the cup for themselves, how they will be ‘sanitized’ or why the company couldn’t have just made the cups biodegradable instead of testing the new cup system. Facility availability is another huge factor in if cups are composted properly or not, and unfortunately, many compostable cups are put into the ‘wrong bin‘ far too often.
We are also faced with the question of our education systems bettering within teaching the premises of recycling. Many are unaware of how this process actually occurs, and this information needs to go as a reminder often to the general public.
Starbucks wants to be completely resource positive in hopes of reducing its carbon footprint and becoming a more sustainable company. Developing this concept as a multi-million corporation is tricky as is but even trickier throughout the constantly-changing COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the pandemic, Starbucks offered discounted prices to those who brought in their own reusable cups for coffees. While the discount still does exist, Starbucks does not make their drinks with the customer’s cup but instead will receive their drink discounted in a normal, plastic cup. Their statement from last March can elaborate on their decisions for making these calls.
As a newly-trained barista, it hurts me knowing the number of cups and supplies I go through while making drinks. Each time I mess up, I end up upsetting myself for wasting another plastic cup. On a day-to-day basis, each store uses a significant amount of waste, and it is absolutely time for a change.
While training, I even felt guilty learning drinks and using more cups (even though this was a large part of learning each beverage; I always wanted someone to drink it, so the cup was not used for no reason). I do hope that the Starbucks corporations follow up with this new idea and develop it in a way that will function well. With a bit more time and consideration put towards this process, I hope that rival companies will begin to follow in similar footsteps.