Starbucks announced an update to its reusable cup policy on Wednesday (Jan. 3), allowing customers to use their own mugs, thermoses, and tumblers for mobile and drive-thru orders in addition to walk-ins. Customers who use their own cups will get a 10-cent discount on their drinks.
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On its face, the policy seems like a sensible way to reduce waste—Starbucks cups make up 20% of its global waste footprint, the company told Quartz. And Starbucks is aiming to cut its waste in half by 2030.
But workers—called “partners” by the company and the national union, Starbucks Workers United—say the policy is unfeasible.
“[I]mplementing this at a time in which we are understaffed, underpaid, and overworked is going to be rough on us partners with needing to learn a new process and keep up with it on top of our flow and usual work,” said Jet Rho, an employee who’s been working at a Starbucks in Vernon, Connecticut for four years.
A spokesperson for Starbucks Workers United said baristas across the country have echoed Rho’s concerns. “Workers are supportive of the positive environmental impact of the new policy, but hesitant about what kind of impact it will have on our working conditions,” they told Quartz,“particularly in a month where most stores are experiencing the lowest staffing levels of the year, on top of Starbucks adding our promotional days to each week.”
It’s not just the learning curve that could add stress for workers, but the actual process itself. The whole point of a drive-thru is to order ahead of time and have your drink ready when you get to the window. But with Starbucks’ new policy, customers with a reusable cup won’t have their drink poured until they get to the window, potentially adding wait time to a service model that relies on efficiency. Employees will also have to check personal cups for cleanliness before pouring drinks. Workers can’t sanitize the cups themselves, per the policy, so they’ll have to assess whether the cup is clean enough to use—if it’s not, they’ll pour your drink into a single-use cup.
Starbucks insists that the process is time-efficient and acceptable for employees. The nationwide policy has only gone into effect since the company successfully tested it at 200 stores in Colorado last spring, according to a spokesperson.
“We’re encouraged by what we’ve seen in past tests, and in Colorado especially, where the personal cup in drive-thru option met customer and partner expectations, and actually launched in the 200 stores after the testing period ended,” the spokesperson told Quartz. They also noted that Starbucks has invested more than 20% of its 2023 profits into wages, training, and equipment for its employees.
But claims of the new policy’s time efficiency might only be due to expectations that it will be under-utilized. Starbucks’ own data shows that less than 1% of customer orders are actually served in a personal cup, the spokesperson said. And fewer reusable cups would mean less time wasted for workers—but, on the flip side, more trash.
⛔️ Important note: To date, no labor contracts have been signed at the company’s nearly 380 union-represented stores. Starbucks recently asked the union to restart bargaining, which could give workers a chance to bring up their concerns over the new policy, among others.
Timeline of Starbucks’ reusable cup policy as it has evolved over the years
1980s: Starbucks launches “For Here Ware” or to bring your own cup for a discount
2020: Starbucks stops allowing customers to bring their own cups, along with other major coffee chains, amid the outbreak of covid-19
2021: In June, Starbucks resumes its reusable cup policy. In July, four stores in South Korea become the first to completely eliminate the use of disposable cups. The company pilots a cup-share program in Japan. Starbucks issues an announcement that it has saved 450,000 paper cups that would have gone to landfills by up-cycling them into reusable cups. In December, the first US Starbucks store unionizes
2022: Starbucks trials its Borrow A Cup program in Seattle, Washington as well as the UK, Switzerland, Singapore, and France with the goal of launching it at its 4,000-plus stores in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa by 2025. The company tests a no-single-use-cups policy in Shanghai, where customers can only use personal mugs or “for-here-ware”
2023: Starbucks tests the drive-thru reusable cup policy in Colorado. It pilots its cup-share program in Arizona. The Associated Press reports that the company wants to stop using disposable cups by 2030. In November, thousands of Starbucks workers launch the largest strike ever during the company’s yearly “Red Cup Day,” in which it gives away reusable cups to customers who order holiday beverages
2024: Starbucks announces its drive-thru bring-your-own-cup policy will apply to stores nationwide
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