The current COVID-19 pandemic has definitely changed a lot of things in terms of how we go about our day-to-day lives. It has changed how we communicate with one another, among many other things.
One thing that has changed is actually how much waste we produce. In keeping with public health regulations, we’ve had to make a return to one-time plastic bags for our groceries or delivery, as well as throw-away coffee cups rather than reusable ones.
But there is some good news – a sign that times might actually be improving. Starbucks has made an announcement that beginning on June 22, 2021, they will once again be allowing their customers to come in with reusable coffee cups.
However, it won’t be quite the same as before the pandemic when you could just stroll in and hand over a reusable cup. Now, there will be certain protocols in place.
As the Starbucks announcement, stated “As part of Starbucks ongoing commitment to prioritizing partner and customer safety, the company developed a completely contactless, new method – eliminating any shared touch points between the customer and Starbucks partners (baristas).”
This means that there will be certain rules you need to follow in order to be able to safely use your reusable cup when visiting a Starbucks location. For a start, you will need to bring a clean cup. Then, you will hand over the cup to your barista to inspect for cleanliness.
However, you won’t be giving them the lid. That you will have to keep to yourself while the barista makes your order. Once they have completed your order and filled your reusable cup, you will then be given the cup back so that you can put the lid on yourself.
Anyone who chooses to bring in a reusable cup will get ten cents off their order. Pretty great incentive, right? What do you think of Starbucks’ plan for bringing back reusable cups? Let us know!