Starbucks Allows US Customers To Use Personal Cups For Orders

Global coffeehouse chain Starbucks has said it will allow its customers in the US use their personal cups for orders. As per a CNN report, the initiative is part of the company's ongoing effort to reduce the massive amount of waste produced by its iconic cups that are thrown in the trash. The update was launched on Wednesday for drive-thru and Starbucks app orders, the outlet further said. Customers placing the orders on drive-thru will have to inform the barista about their own clean mug, which will be collected at the pick-up window.

The company has added a new "personal cup" option to the "customisation" button for its US customers while ordering.

Starbucks has mentioned two mandatory conditions to be followed by customers: Their cups must be cleaned and that the baristas won't rinse them, and cups larger than 40 ounces won't be accepted.

Starbucks has set a goal to reduce its waste outlet by 50 per cent by 2030, and this is one of the many steps the coffeehouse chain is taking in this regard. Its traditional cups are made of both plastic and paper making them harder to recycle.

It said in a press release that the changes are "part of a larger cultural movement the company is leading to shift toward reusables and away from single-use plastics, making it convenient for customers to use their own personal cup for every visit".

Other ideas tested by the coffee chain include the borrow-a-cup programme in which customers were asked to pay certain amount as deposit to take a durable cup with them and drop back after use.

It tested this programme in 2021 in Seattle and asked customers to pay $1 to get the cup. Starbucks expanded this programme to Japan, Singapore and the UK.