Starbucks getting rid of disposable cups

[mommyoffive]

Starbucks Will Start Phasing Out Disposable Cups & Testing Borrow-A-Cup Program (hip2save.com)

On its mission to become more sustainable, Starbucks plans to drastically decrease the use of their disposable cups – yes, the same cups that we look forward to seeing different designs of every holiday season.

While recycling their signature cups is better than littering, it’s still not the best eco-friendly option, as they usually end up in landfills.

According to CNN, Starbucks hopes customers will be bringing their own cups from home or borrow reusable cups through a Borrow-A-Cup Program by 2025. The company is currently testing out different models of a borrowing program across stores worldwide, and while testing a beta program in Seattle, they received a positive response from customers.

 

What are your thoughts?  Love it?  Hate it?

[vonfirmath]

During COVID, a lot of places that used to allow refills stopped allowing it due to health and safety issues. I wonder how Starbucks is going to be sure the refillable cups they are using are clean.

 

[Harriet Vane]

2 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

During COVID, a lot of places that used to allow refills stopped allowing it due to health and safety issues. I wonder how Starbucks is going to be sure the refillable cups they are using are clean.

 

Run them through the dishwasher?

[vonfirmath]

Just now, Harriet Vane said:

Run them through the dishwasher?

Oh I thought they were going to use the customers' cup.

 

[Arcadia]

5 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

During COVID, a lot of places that used to allow refills stopped allowing it due to health and safety issues. I wonder how Starbucks is going to be sure the refillable cups they are using are clean.

 

 

2 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

Oh I thought they were going to use the customers' cup.

 

What Starbucks did last June https://www.foodandwine.com/news/starbucks-reusable-cups-return-covid

”With the new system, customers must arrive with already cleaned cups which will then be placed in a ceramic mug. The Starbucks barista will make drinks while holding only the mug, and then the mug will be brought back to the customer who will remove their cup themselves. Essentially, the ceramic cups are serving as a glorified tray for baristas to use to handle your cup-or you can just watch a video of the whole system going down on Starbucks' website.”

[Arcadia]

I use my own mug for 7eleven coffee so I don’t have any issue with bringing my own mug or Yeti tumbler for coffee at any cafe. I usually buy Starbucks frappe as a treat pre-pandemic, and rarely bought any during the pandemic. 

I’m wondering how Starbucks is going to implement reusable cups for their mobile app orders. Are they going to charge for the reusable cups and then refund when the customer brings them back? Kind of like the CRV system?

[regentrude]

It's high time we stop the insane waste of single-use throwaway items. I hope it works. 

When you buy mulled wine at the Christmas market in my German home town, you pay a deposit for the ceramic mug which you get back when you return it.

[MEmama]

When we were in Dublin last fall we frequented a cafe that “sold” reusable ceramic mugs for 1 euro deposit. 
 

It’s ridiculous that so many people tend to immediately revert to cries of indignation and “but it can’t happen here because reasons!” when in reality, the world over, and here too until very recently, it can and does occur just fine. Single use, disposable coffee cups are not a birthright, lol. I’m thrilled their days might finally be limited. 

[ScoutTN]

Seems sensible to me. They’ll figure it out.

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, regentrude said:

It's high time we stop the insane waste of single-use throwaway items. I hope it works. 

When you buy mulled wine at the Christmas market in my German home town, you pay a deposit for the ceramic mug which you get back when you return it.

I love that idea! I wonder if the farmer's market we like would be willing to consider something like that for apple cider. We buy quite a lot of the stuff during the autumn season, and I hate the plastic jugs. I have a lovely glass half gallon one with a screw on cap (I also have a cork that fits too).

[HomeAgain]

1 hour ago, MEmama said:

When we were in Dublin last fall we frequented a cafe that “sold” reusable ceramic mugs for 1 euro deposit. 
 

It’s ridiculous that so many people tend to immediately revert to cries of indignation and “but it can’t happen here because reasons!” when in reality, the world over, and here too until very recently, it can and does occur just fine. Single use, disposable coffee cups are not a birthright, lol. I’m thrilled their days might finally be limited. 

Festivals we went to in Italy and Austria did this, too.  1 euro for a mug or glass, returned when the cup is handed back.  It's just the way it was done.  The amount of trash that would have been generated in a single day would have been insane.

We tend to frequent places more like that here that have the same mindset.  We have growlers that dh takes with him to the local breweries in the summer.  They do a quick wash before refilling.  Each brewery will only fill their own growler, so we end up with a small set, but it's just a small amount of shelf space. When we buy local eggs we bring an empty carton to exchange.  It just makes more sense. 

Anyhow, I'd rather have a cup refilled than have to deal with throwing away a paper cup later. Same with the rest of it.  Give me something I can bring back or keep for specific use and I don't have an issue with it.

[JustEm]

I think it is a great idea. I don't go to Starbucks anymore because dh got me an espresso machine for Christmas. But if we're ever traveling and need coffee I'd be more likely to support them than other chain coffee places that don't implement this. Although, I'm more of a local shop kind of coffee goer.

[vonfirmath]

3 hours ago, MEmama said:

When we were in Dublin last fall we frequented a cafe that “sold” reusable ceramic mugs for 1 euro deposit. 
 

It’s ridiculous that so many people tend to immediately revert to cries of indignation and “but it can’t happen here because reasons!” when in reality, the world over, and here too until very recently, it can and does occur just fine. Single use, disposable coffee cups are not a birthright, lol. I’m thrilled their days might finally be limited. 

I think its a very legitimate question given that it JUST Happened that a practice of using refillable cups was stopped cold due to disease.

[wintermom]

3 hours ago, regentrude said:

It's high time we stop the insane waste of single-use throwaway items. I hope it works. 

When you buy mulled wine at the Christmas market in my German home town, you pay a deposit for the ceramic mug which you get back when you return it.

Sounds like what the Pop Shoppe used to do back in my youth. Not sure if this was a local store or broader. You bought a case of different flavours of pop and took them home in the case. Then you returned the case of empty bottles and bought more. Great system! 

ETA: Pop Shoppe was/is a Canadian business. https://www.thepopshoppe.com/

Edited March 16, 2022 by wintermom

[Pawz4me]

6 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Sounds like what the Pop Shoppe used to do back in my youth. Not sure if this was a local store or broader. You bought a case of different flavours of pop and took them home in the case. Then you returned the case of empty bottles and bought more. Great system! 

ETA: Pop Shoppe was/is a Canadian business. https://www.thepopshoppe.com/

That’s how it used to be done with Coke, Pepsi, etc. at all the grocery stores here when I was a kid. You got paid (cash or a store credit) to bring the empties back. 

[wintermom]

Just now, Pawz4me said:

That’s how it used to be done with Coke, Pepsi, etc. at all the grocery stores here when I was a kid. You got paid (cash or a store credit) to bring the empties back. 

We still have this in many Canadian provinces. The "less forethinking places" include the deposit money in the cost of the beverage at the point of sale. It's amazing how many people collect and return empties if there is an incentive - even .05$ for a plastic water bottle.

[fairfarmhand]

When people get raw milk from me, they have to buy the big half gallon jars and swap their clean empties for my full jars. (Of course, i still wash everything anyone gives me just for my own peace of mind since I'm handling raw milk) So it is possible if people WANT to. Most people have gotten used to the convenience factor, but I am so sure they can adjust. It;s like ALDI charging for grocery bags. So many people bring their own because they don't wanna have to pay 5 cents for a bag. 

[wintermom]

6 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

When people get raw milk from me, they have to buy the big half gallon jars and swap their clean empties for my full jars. (Of course, i still wash everything anyone gives me just for my own peace of mind since I'm handling raw milk) So it is possible if people WANT to. Most people have gotten used to the convenience factor, but I am so sure they can adjust. It;s like ALDI charging for grocery bags. So many people bring their own because they don't wanna have to pay 5 cents for a bag. 

You are so lucky to be able to sell and buy raw milk outside of the "black market." Schitt's Creek episode of illegial raw milk is the reality of Canada. I LOVE raw milk, though! I just can't buy a cow, or a share in a cow, to feed my craving. 

[kristin0713]

I don’t mind paying a deposit for a reusable cup and returning it for a clean reusable cup. But it grosses me out that they will be constantly handling peoples’ cups that are not necessarily clean. So they will be putting everyone’s cup in another cup that had others’ cups in it that people potentially had their mouths on—gross. And I’m genuinely curious how the drive-thru situation will work. I think a much better next step would be to incentivize a reusable cup/deposit system and offer rewards or a discount for participating. 

[importswim]

Yay! This is exciting to me. I used to always use sbux own white cups if I was eating in and was really disappointed (but understood, obviously) when they had to do away with ceramic mugs or use of our own cups due to covid.

[Pam in CT]

re hygeine/gross factor of re-using a cup someone else has drunk from

25 minutes ago, kristin0713 said:

I don’t mind paying a deposit for a reusable cup and returning it for a clean reusable cup. But it grosses me out that they will be constantly handling peoples’ cups that are not necessarily clean. So they will be putting everyone’s cup in another cup that had others’ cups in it that people potentially had their mouths on—gross. And I’m genuinely curious how the drive-thru situation will work. I think a much better next step would be to incentivize a reusable cup/deposit system and offer rewards or a discount for participating. 

I'm not following the ick factor. 

Do you eat in regular full service restaurants? How is this different from eating in a regular restaurant, and eating / drinking off real dishes and glasses and coffee cups?  The bus/wait staff are... clearing off dishes that are definitely not clean, right?

[Catwoman]

I’m kind of cynical about the motivation behind this. Starbucks stands to make a lot more money if they no longer have to provide cups, lids, and the little insulated cup sweater things. So is this really for the environment? Because if it is, they should lower their prices to compensate their customers for the inconvenience.

Does anyone know if there will still be an option of disposable cups?  Because if I’m at the mall or visiting someone in the hospital, chances are pretty darned slim that I’ll be carrying a coffee mug with me, and going through the drive-up will take a lot longer (and keeping track of each individual customer’s mug is going to be a real nuisance for the baristas.) 

 

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, vonfirmath said:

I think its a very legitimate question given that it JUST Happened that a practice of using refillable cups was stopped cold due to disease.

Sure, I agree it made sense as an immediate mitigation effort. But it’s two years on and places around the world— including here— are happily refilling reusable cups again and it’s nbd. We know that’s not a threat at this point, so it doesn’t make sense to continue on as though it is. 
 

Kind of how in the beginning lots of people wore gloves when they went to the grocery store or whatever. It made enough sense in the moment because there was so much we didn’t know, and it might have helped prevent the spread. As it turned out contact in that manner doesn’t seem to be a major player so people readjusted and stopped the practice.

 

[TravelingChris]

I hate this idea.  I don't go to Starbucks unless I am traveling and this is my only choice.  I don't carry coffee mugs while travelling and hotels don't have good ways to actually clean the coffee cups.

[Pam in CT]

COVID mitigation in the first few weeks vs common practices today

5 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Sure, I agree it made sense as an immediate mitigation effort. But it’s two years on and places around the world— including here— are happily refilling reusable cups again and it’s nbd. We know that’s not a threat at this point, so it doesn’t make sense to continue on as though it is. 
 

Kind of how in the beginning lots of people wore gloves when they went to the grocery store or whatever. It made enough sense in the moment because there was so much we didn’t know, and it might have helped prevent the spread. As it turned out contact in that manner doesn’t seem to be a major player so people readjusted and stopped the practice.

 

Also, more directly on point: people are again eating inside restaurants. Where wait staff are picking up 100% definitely-dirty dishes, running them through the dishwasher, and putting them out again. If THAT is okay under Re-Open We Have To Learn To Live With This -- which evidently it is-- ... what's different here?

[vonfirmath]

7 minutes ago, Pam in CT said:

COVID mitigation in the first few weeks vs common practices today

Also, more directly on point: people are again eating inside restaurants. Where wait staff are picking up 100% definitely-dirty dishes, running them through the dishwasher, and putting them out again. If THAT is okay under Re-Open We Have To Learn To Live With This -- which evidently it is-- ... what's different here?

I don't normally go to Starbucks so maybe I should not be involved here. But the difference is drinking out of washed cups vs having the choice to bring your own vs being forced to bring your own.

I would have no problems going to StarBucks and drinking out of a mug inside their store that was reusable. It'd be a really nice experience, honestly. And this would be equivalent to eating in a restaurant.  (And btw when eating in a restaurant -- if you want a drink to go? They put it in a disposable cup)

But that isn't how much of their coffee is drunk, right? People mostly get a drink to go.

Edited March 16, 2022 by vonfirmath

[fairfarmhand]

1 hour ago, wintermom said:

You are so lucky to be able to sell and buy raw milk outside of the "black market." Schitt's Creek episode of illegial raw milk is the reality of Canada. I LOVE raw milk, though! I just can't buy a cow, or a share in a cow, to feed my craving. 

OH, I don't sell it. That's illegal in my state. 😞 I just share.

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, wintermom said:

You are so lucky to be able to sell and buy raw milk outside of the "black market." Schitt's Creek episode of illegial raw milk is the reality of Canada. I LOVE raw milk, though! I just can't buy a cow, or a share in a cow, to feed my craving. 

 

6 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

OH, I don't sell it. That's illegal in my state. 😞 I just share.

It’s legal here in Maine. When we lived in New Brunswick we bought some down here, smuggled it back (ssshhh!! Although unlike in Schitts Creek it was only for our personal consumption) and then reused the lovely glass container for the locally available milk-in-a-bag. 🙂 

[Catwoman]

21 minutes ago, TravelingChris said:

I hate this idea.  I don't go to Starbucks unless I am traveling and this is my only choice.  I don't carry coffee mugs while travelling and hotels don't have good ways to actually clean the coffee cups.

Yes! I’m not going to toss a dirty coffee mug in my handbag (which wouldn’t be big enough for a coffee mug, anyway) and carry it around with me all day until I get home, and I’m not carrying a bottle of dish detergent with me and washing out my mug in the ladies restroom. And if I do that, I guess I shouldn’t dry my mug with paper towels, because that would kind of negate that whole benefit to the environment, anyway.

Looks like Starbucks just lost a customer. I’m sure they won’t care, but it is what it is.

I am all in favor of ceramic mugs for people who are dining in, but I won’t go there if I have no disposable/recyclable cardboard option for takeout.

Edited March 16, 2022 by Catwoman
I can’t type today and autocorrect is not being helpful

[Catwoman]

15 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

I don't normally go to Starbucks so maybe I should not be involved here. But the difference is drinking out of washed cups vs having the choice to bring your own vs being forced to bring your own.

I would have no problems going to StarBucks and drinking out of a mug inside their store that was reusable. It'd be a really nice experience, honestly. And this would be equivalent to eating in a restaurant.  (And btw when eating in a restaurant -- if you want a drink to go? They put it in a disposable cup)

But that isn't how much of their coffee is drunk, right? People mostly get a drink to go.

I agree! It’s great to give people the option of bringing their own cups, but I think making it a requirement is a huge nuisance.

[ScoutTN]

1 hour ago, fairfarmhand said:

When people get raw milk from me, they have to buy the big half gallon jars and swap their clean empties for my full jars. (Of course, i still wash everything anyone gives me just for my own peace of mind since I'm handling raw milk) So it is possible if people WANT to. Most people have gotten used to the convenience factor, but I am so sure they can adjust. It;s like ALDI charging for grocery bags. So many people bring their own because they don't wanna have to pay 5 cents for a bag. 

Yes, we do this for our raw milk.  ❤️ glass jars. 

[itsheresomewhere]

Considering some think to clean their travel mug is a quick swish with water, I find it a bit gross. Restaurants have standards for washing dishes and some people just are icky.  Look at the way some have never thought to clean their reusable bags.  I wouldn’t mind an exchange program where you take your reusable cup you bought from them and exchange it for a new one.  I do hope they have a disposable option available for those who might need it but make it so you have to request it. 

[JennyD]

51 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

I’m kind of cynical about the motivation behind this. Starbucks stands to make a lot more money if they no longer have to provide cups, lids, and the little insulated cup sweater things. So is this really for the environment? Because if it is, they should lower their prices to compensate their customers for the inconvenience.

 

 

Back in the day when I did things like go to Starbucks, I usually brought my own cup and there was a small discount -- 10 cents, IIRC.

I too have my doubts that this change is primarily motivated by eco-consciousness, but that's fine.  A socially useful action is still socially useful regardless of the motives behind it.

That said, based on my own considerable experience bringing my own cup to Starbucks, I have my doubts that this is going to work at scale.  

[kristin0713]

1 hour ago, Pam in CT said:

re hygeine/gross factor of re-using a cup someone else has drunk from

I'm not following the ick factor. 

Do you eat in regular full service restaurants? How is this different from eating in a regular restaurant, and eating / drinking off real dishes and glasses and coffee cups?  The bus/wait staff are... clearing off dishes that are definitely not clean, right?

This is different from the scenario described above where someone hands the barista their cup, the barista puts that person’s cup (which MIGHT be clean?? But has not been through a commercial dishwasher) into a container to make the drink. Then they use the same container for the next customer’s cup. Unless they have a LOT of containers and they are using a new one every time? I can’t imagine that, it would be so.many.containers to wash.  Paying a deposit for a reusable cup seems much more hygienic to me because Starbucks is making drinks commercially washed cups. Then maybe there is a deposit station where you can give back your cup and scan it into the app or something. 

I also agree that having an option for disposable cups during travel is important. If I went to Starbucks several times a week, or even weekly, I could get into the reusable cup / deposit system. But right now it is only for convenience on-the-go and in those situations, I don’t want to deal with a dirty mug in my car. 

But yeah, it’s kind of gross that the bus/wait staff in restaurants clears off dirty dishes and then brings people their food. I honestly try not to think about it.

[JennyD]

Just now, kristin0713 said:

Paying a deposit for a reusable cup seems much more hygienic to me because Starbucks is making drinks commercially washed cups. Then maybe there is a deposit station where you can give back your cup and scan it into the app or something. 

This would also work with their sizing system, unlike what would happen if huge numbers of customers all brought mugs from home.  I have a Starbucks-branded travel mug that holds 16oz (grande) but sometimes I just want to buy 12 oz (tall), which always entails a back-and-forth.  I don't find it to be a problem, myself, but dealing with varying sizes of personal coffee mugs seems like something that could really slow down their system at peak times.  

 

[KSera]

16 minutes ago, kristin0713 said:

This is different from the scenario described above where someone hands the barista their cup, the barista puts that person’s cup (which MIGHT be clean?? But has not been through a commercial dishwasher) into a container to make the drink. Then they use the same container for the next customer’s cup. Unless they have a LOT of containers and they are using a new one every time? I can’t imagine that, it would be so.many.containers to wash.  Paying a deposit for a reusable cup seems much more hygienic to me because Starbucks is making drinks commercially washed cups. Then maybe there is a deposit station where you can give back your cup and scan it into the app or something. 

I also agree that having an option for disposable cups during travel is important. If I went to Starbucks several times a week, or even weekly, I could get into the reusable cup / deposit system. But right now it is only for convenience on-the-go and in those situations, I don’t want to deal with a dirty mug in my car. 

But yeah, it’s kind of gross that the bus/wait staff in restaurants clears off dirty dishes and then brings people their food. I honestly try not to think about it.

I definitely get what you are saying about the cross contamination issue. Although, when I watch people making and serving food and such, I see so much of that that I mostly have to just not think about it.  Perhaps they could have a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide or some thing similar that they spritz the inside of the cup that holds the cup with between customers. During Covid, I started using an alcohol or hydrogen peroxide wipe to wipe down the outside of my cup when I finally started getting to go things again. Or I would just dump it into my own cup.  Will they be commercially washing the borrowed cups when they are returned to them, I hope? That would probably be my main concern, is that I don’t want to be given a cup that someone else returned “clean“ without it having been cleaned For sure. I think it’s all doable, but I don’t envy them trying to work out all the logistics.

[Selkie]

I like it. Nice to see this happening in the US, because I've noticed that restaurant chains tend to be much more innovative about sustainability at their overseas locations than in the US. 

I would love to see more Starbucks like their Greener Store Lab located in Shanghai. I've read that they are planning to use this concept for new locations in the US:

https://www.livekindly.co/starbucks-of-future-oat-milk-default-menu-vegan/

"A Shanghai Starbucks is taking sustainability to the next level. 

The chain expanded its “Greener Store” concept internationally, opening its first location outside of North America on September 30. Located in the Pudong district, the new Starbucks embraces a circular design approach, which aims to tackle issues like climate change and pollution. 

At the new Shanghai store, oat milk is the default lieu of dairy due to the high levels of greenhouse gas emissions generated by cattle. And more than half of the store’s menu features plant-based products, including 15 all-new food items.

The “greener” Starbucks is also completely paperless, and instead digital menus and receipts are given. It offers only reusable cups, which can be purchased if customers do not have their own, and coffee grounds are composted or recycled. The iconic green apron is made from recycled plastic cups. And the store even boasts a “Circular Lifestyle Lab,” which spotlights sustainability-themed artwork. 

The store’s eco-friendly aspects don’t stop there. Its design and construction implement the use of many recycled materials, including wood reclaimed from other Starbucks stores. 

Of its nearly 10,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, more than 2,300 are Greener Stores, a concept the coffee giant co-developed with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Greener Stores run on renewable energy and use high efficiency light fixtures, features that the Shanghai Starbucks also includes. According to Starbucks, the stores are able to decrease their overall energy and water use by 25 to 30 percent, which will save the company approximately $50 million in utilities over the next decade.

In 2018, the company committed to opening 10,000 Greener Stores around the world by 2025. “We know that designing and building green stores is not only responsible, it is cost-effective as well,” Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of Starbucks, said. 

That same year, the chain was responsible for emitting about 16 million tons of carbon dioxide. It used 1 billion cubic meters of water and sent more than 800 metric kilotons of waste, such as coffee cups, to the landfill. In order to tackle these environmental concerns, Starbucks committed to reducing its carbon emissions, water usage, and generated waste by 50 percent by 2030.

The Greener Stores are part of Starbucks’ strategy for becoming resource positive. “Starbucks expansion of the Greener Stores program demonstrates a continued commitment to environmental stewardship and innovation,” Sheila Bonini, Senior Vice President, Private Sector Engagement of the WWF, said. “By making this program open-source, and expanding it globally, Starbucks is creating a path toward a resource positive future within their own four walls and beyond.”"

 

 

 

[Idalou]

 This is similar to how people in certain states reacted to the banning of plastic grocery bags. As far a I can tell, we all survived without excess trauma.

 Starbucks hopes to have their plan in place by 2025, and hopefully cut their waste and carbon footprint in half by 2030. Those that can not or will not find a way to carry their own cup in a car can probably pay $1 extra as a deposit on a cup of likely overpriced coffee. Or they can find another coffee shop; Starbucks will not care about the teeny tiny percentage of anti-reusable cuppers

Edited March 16, 2022 by Idalou

[Bootsie]

At least locally, Starbuck would give a discount if you brought your own mug and you could request a non-disposable mug if you were drinking the coffee in the establishment.  It is amazing how Americans have become so attached to carrying around a drink with them all of the time.  I remember talking to a BMW executive a number of years ago who asked me why in the world anyone would want to have a cup holder in a car.   Now we have cup holders on strollers, canoes, shopping carts, etc.  

[wathe]

49 minutes ago, KSera said:

Or I would just dump it into my own cup.

This is my current strategy with paper cups.  I really, really like my travel mug - keeps my drink hot, and is leak-proof.  I tote it everywhere.  None of our local chains have moved back to refilling customer cups yet.  I order my drink without a lid, and dump it straight into my own cup.  Save the plastic from the lid, at least.  I think if chains move to a reusable exchange system, I would do the same - dump into my own cup and return theirs on the spot.  I don't want to deal with lugging and returning cups.  Especially while on the road.

[vonfirmath]

15 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

At least locally, Starbuck would give a discount if you brought your own mug and you could request a non-disposable mug if you were drinking the coffee in the establishment.  It is amazing how Americans have become so attached to carrying around a drink with them all of the time.  I remember talking to a BMW executive a number of years ago who asked me why in the world anyone would want to have a cup holder in a car.   Now we have cup holders on strollers, canoes, shopping carts, etc.  

When was this? Looking around, appears Cup Holders in cars have been around since the 1950s, and built into cars since 1983.  I can remember when we left the house as a kid, (for a day of shopping, working on the church, or going on vacation) we packed a cooler and took it with us. My mom would make two tall thermos of tea and send them with my dad everyday too. So it doesn't feel like a new thing that people took drinks with them.

https://www.bonappetit.com/trends/article/the-history-of-the-car-cup-holder 

This article pairs the demand for cupholders with the rise of the drive in restaurant and drive thru windows.

Edited March 16, 2022 by vonfirmath

[skimomma]

I think it's great and hope it works.  I started bringing my own mug back in the 1990s.  I got strange looks in the McDonalds drive-thru but I want my coffee to stay hot!  I don't get coffee outside of the house often, usually just when traveling, but it really is not a big deal.  It is also quite possible to wash a mug, with soap, in a hotel sink.  I have done it a million times.

The fact of the matter is that we are going to have to do a whole LOT more to curb the consumption of resources and reduce waste.  Starbucks cups and bring-your-own-bag are hardly the tip of the iceberg as far as the "inconvenience" we are going to have to get used to.  People might go kicking and screaming but someday, we will look back and be shocked at what we thought was a "big deal."  

 

[MEmama]

52 minutes ago, Selkie said:

I like it. Nice to see this happening in the US, because I've noticed that restaurant chains tend to be much more innovative about sustainability at their overseas locations than in the US. 

Agreed. I just saw somewhere than Dunkin Donuts in Ireland is switching to cardboard coffee cup lids instead of plastic. I mean, it's such a simple, obvious solution why is it ever done a different way?

I am glad to see that some of our local microbreweries now sell their 4/6 packs using cardboard instead of those horrible plastic rings. Again, an obvious solution. There are unlimited places like these where we can do better. It’s long past time to normalize making better decisions. 

[MercyA]

26 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

At least locally, Starbuck would give a discount if you brought your own mug and you could request a non-disposable mug if you were drinking the coffee in the establishment.  It is amazing how Americans have become so attached to carrying around a drink with them all of the time.  I remember talking to a BMW executive a number of years ago who asked me why in the world anyone would want to have a cup holder in a car.   Now we have cup holders on strollers, canoes, shopping carts, etc.  

I know, it's crazy! We never took drinks anywhere in the 80's and 90's unless it was for something like a field trip or picnic. Now everyone has to have water bottles with them at all times, it seems. It's totally fine, "you do you," and I'm sure being hydrated is healthy, but sometimes when my DD claims extreme thirst after being out for like a half-hour I think it's a bit excessive. 🙂 

[itsheresomewhere]

Just now, MercyA said:

I know, it's crazy! We never took drinks anywhere in the 80's and 90's unless it was for something like a field trip or picnic. Now everyone has to have water bottles with them at all times, it seems. It's totally fine, "you do you," and I'm sure being hydrated is healthy, but sometimes when my DD claims extreme thirst after being out for like a half-hour I think it's a bit excessive. 🙂 

It must be where you grow up.  We took drinks everywhere back then.  Never didn’t have one with us because of heat and we were cheap/poor.  

[Pam in CT]

re Starbucks is principally a to-go operation

2 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

...I would have no problems going to StarBucks and drinking out of a mug inside their store that was reusable. It'd be a really nice experience, honestly. And this would be equivalent to eating in a restaurant.  (And btw when eating in a restaurant -- if you want a drink to go? They put it in a disposable cup)

But that isn't how much of their coffee is drunk, right? People mostly get a drink to go.

Maybe depends on location?  In my (suburban) town, Starbucks is definitely a hang-out, for moms with toddlers in the morning, for tweens & teens after school, for folks with laptops using it as a virtual office all day long.  It's next door to the movie theater, so a lot of hangout before & after.  Of course people do get takeout as well, but since there's no drive-through and it's *very pleasant* there's a whole lot of hanging out as well.

 

re what exactly is the cleaning regimen of these

1 hour ago, kristin0713 said:

This is different from the scenario described above where someone hands the barista their cup, the barista puts that person’s cup (which MIGHT be clean?? But has not been through a commercial dishwasher) into a container to make the drink. Then they use the same container for the next customer’s cup. Unless they have a LOT of containers and they are using a new one every time? I can’t imagine that, it would be so.many.containers to wash.  Paying a deposit for a reusable cup seems much more hygienic to me because Starbucks is making drinks commercially washed cups. Then maybe there is a deposit station where you can give back your cup and scan it into the app or something. 

I also agree that having an option for disposable cups during travel is important. If I went to Starbucks several times a week, or even weekly, I could get into the reusable cup / deposit system. But right now it is only for convenience on-the-go and in those situations, I don’t want to deal with a dirty mug in my car. 

But yeah, it’s kind of gross that the bus/wait staff in restaurants clears off dirty dishes and then brings people their food. I honestly try not to think about it.

 

According to the OP link, the Borrow a Cup procedure is you take a cup, use it, return it next time, and are issued a different cup, while your used cup is then professionally cleaned.  While the picture shown has a lid on it, so it works for to-go in the stroller or car or whatever, it is conceptually more like the 1 euro deposit mug that pp referenced above, than a halfhearted swish.  Or like the in-restaurant ceramic mugs, also professionally cleaned and then re-used by someone else.

Quote

Borrow A Cup: Customers order their drink in a designated Starbucks reusable cup, designed to be returned to stores, professionally cleaned, and reused by other Starbucks customers. This was previously tested in Seattle last year and we currently have live pilots in Japan, Singapore and London. Each program is intentionally different (even the name!) to help us find the best possible operational model globally.  

 

[Bootsie]

14 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

When was this? Looking around, appears Cup Holders in cars have been around since the 1950s, and built into cars since 1983.  I can remember when we left the house as a kid, (for a day of shopping, working on the church, or going on vacation) we packed a cooler and took it with us. My mom would make two tall thermos of tea and send them with my dad everyday too. So it doesn't feel like a new thing that people took drinks with them.

https://www.bonappetit.com/trends/article/the-history-of-the-car-cup-holder 

This article pairs the demand for cupholders with the rise of the drive in restaurant and drive thru windows.

I had this discussion back in the mid-1990s.  It has been a major issue for BMW (BMW's new X3 overcomes Germany's cupholder disconnect (autoweek.com))  More recently, BMW has faced a $5M class-action lawsuit because of damage that has been done to car electronics because of spilling items in unsturdy cup holders.  

I remember in the 70s and 80s having plastic holders that fit into the window to hold cups rather than having them be built into the car console.  

It would be one thing to send a thermos or cooler with drinks to drink once someone sat down to eat versus having a cup holder to drink while driving or riding in a vehicle.  I have never seen a European shopping cart with a drink holder.  In the past year, I had some European friends laughing at designs for canoes and kayaks that had drink holders in them.  IME, Europeans still do not walk around carrying and sipping on drinks like Americans do.  

[MercyA]

3 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

That’s how it used to be done with Coke, Pepsi, etc. at all the grocery stores here when I was a kid. You got paid (cash or a store credit) to bring the empties back. 

Yep. My small town's grocery store even had a back room devoted exclusively to storing the empties until they could be picked up. (And the manager at the time ran a *very* tight ship--woe to the employee who broke a bottle and cost the store five cents!) 

Tangent: the store allowed people to mix and match bottles in the cardboard containers that held six (?) bottles. So you could get four Pepsi's and two Mountain Dews, for instance. 🙂  

[vonfirmath]

12 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said:

It must be where you grow up.  We took drinks everywhere back then.  Never didn’t have one with us because of heat and we were cheap/poor.  

This could be part of it. I grew up in Houston, TExas and we were VERY conscious of staying hydrated during much of the year (and yes my mom was too cheap to stop and buy drinks) But I can remember holding a can between my legs to drink in the car and juggling the can and the book I was reading.

I don't think the reusable water bottles were as much of a thing -- those were more of a innovation as "more healthy" than what people were drinking instead.  Though they did sell the thermos you could put your own drinks in.

 

(And when driving cross country, we'd get thirsty and ask for a drink and mom would grab a can and send it back to us. So it was definitely opened and drunk in the car. Not just at stops.)

 

ETA: And my mom held food/drink for my dad so he ate and drank while driving as well.

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by vonfirmath

[Lady Florida.]

I like the idea even though I rarely go to Starbucks anymore. When ds was a teen our hs group had teen nights. A friend and I would usually sit at the nearest Starbucks and nurse a coffee while reading or chatting until it was time to pick up the kids. Once he drove on his own I didn't need to hang out nearby. I still have my reusable Starbucks cup from back in those days and always kept it in the car. I might start keeping it there again if they'll allow you to use your own cup once this gets started.