The new Starbucks glass, more environmentally friendly 0:39
New York (CNN Business) -
Starbucks launched an experimental "borrow a cup" program at select locations in its hometown of Seattle.
The program is part of Starbucks' goal to make its glasses more sustainable and will begin as a two-month trial at five Seattle stores.
Customers of these stores will have the option of receiving their drinks in a reusable cup.
It works like this: Customers will order their drinks in a reusable glass and pay a refundable deposit of one dollar.
When the customer finishes their drink, they return the cup and receive a $ 1 cash back credit plus 10 bonus stars to their Starbucks rewards account.
If customers take the glass home, they can also take advantage of Starbucks' partnership with Ridwell, a company that will collect reusable glasses from their home.
Each cup is then cleaned and sanitized and rotated again for another customer to use.
This effort is just one of the coffee chain's many attempts to go green with its mugs, helping drive the company's commitment to reduce its waste by 50% by 2030. For example, Starbucks recently redesigned its lids. of cold cups so they need a straw.
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The chain's traditional disposable hot cups are made of plastic and paper, making them difficult to recycle.
And while compostable cups might be a greener option, they must be composted in an industrial facility.
Therefore, reusable cups could be a more practical and environmentally friendly option, although this approach can be difficult to extend.
Starbucks launched a reusable cup trial at London's Gatwick Airport in 2019, a year after the company launched the NextGen Cup Challenge in collaboration with McDonald's and other partners to rethink cup materials.
Contestants, from hobbyists to industrial design firms, submitted proposals for mugs made from mushrooms, rice husks, water lilies, corn husks and artificial spider web.
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