This may seem like a strange headline but Starbucks has announced that is will be eliminating it’s iconic white paper disposable cups and replacing them with a more environmentally friendly option in the future.
I think most people visiting Walt Disney World will at some point have popped into one of the many Starbucks locations to purchase a hot beverage. Once purchased, your drink of choice will usually be handed to you in a white disposable cup. Well, Starbucks chief sustainability officer, Michael Kobori said in a recent interview with CNN that:
“Our cup is ubiquitous, and we love that, but it is also this ubiquitous symbol of a throwaway society.”
Although the cups can be recycled a lot of them will still end up in landfill or as litter on streets so Starbucks are making the move towards phasing them out over the next few years.
Starbuck’s aim is that by the end of 2023 that customers will be able to use their own personal mug at every Starbucks in the US and Canada and by 2025 they would like every customer to be using either their own mug or take part in the borrow-a-mug program.
A number of borrow-a-cup schemes are being trialled, one of which is where customers pay a $1 deposit to use a re-usable cup which they have to return to one of the bins located in store to get their $1 back. With this option, I can see a lot of cups just not being returned. There is also the issue of the energy needed to wash the returned re-usable cups so they are ready for the next customer.
Starbucks are also testing a disposable cup fee to try to discourage the use of disposable cups. The push is definitely on to eliminate the use of the white paper cup at Starbucks locations in the future.
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So, do you think this will work at Walt Disney World? In this week’s Big Debate we ask you your thoughts on having to either bring your own mug or pay a deposit to take part in a borrow-a-mug scheme on your trip to Walt Disney World.
While we definitely see the logic and the positive impact that eliminating the white disposable cup will have on reducing the amount that end up in landfill. Bringing your own mug might seem like another thing which will weigh down your bag on your day in the park especially when travelling as a family. However, many of you may already have one of the tumblers which are on sale so could use one of these. I guess though still carrying it around with you all day with be the bigger issue here.
The borrow-a-mug scheme would probably work best at Walt Disney World where you pay a deposit and then return them to any Starbucks location although you will still need to carry it around with you and then take the time to go into a store to place it in one of the bins.
So, do you think Starbucks should eliminate the disposable cup at Walt Disney World?
- Yes
- No
CLICK HERE to vote and don’t forget to share this with your friends and family. Let us know your thoughts by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page. We will include a selection of these in our results article which will be coming soon to Theme Park Tourist.
