A bartender washes in a sink inside a Starbucks Coffee Korea Co. store. from Gimpo, South Korea.
SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Starbucks is committed to discarding disposable glasses in South Korea by 2025 as it aims to reduce its global waste disposal by the end of the decade.
The coffee giant has long promised to cut about 7 billion disposable cups it passes each year, most of it in landfills. For decades, with a brief break in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, the company has offered a 10-cent discount to customers who bring cups, but few choose this option.
After Starbucks announced last year that it plans to eventually become “resource-positive,” the company has set several goals to reduce water consumption, carbon emissions and waste. On Tuesday, the company announced it would run a two-month pilot project for a loan and return program at five Seattle cafes. The company announced on Monday a number of new targets for its South Korean market, including reducing its carbon footprint by 30% by 2025.
While trying to eliminate disposable glasses for its coffee, Starbucks plans to introduce a circular cup program in South Korea to slowly encourage customers to reuse cups and cups. This summer, the chain plans to launch a program in some cafes in Jeju, which allows consumers to pay a small deposit for a reusable cup, which they can return to a contactless return kiosk.
Starbucks shares rose 1.9% in morning transactions. The company’s shares have risen 64% in the last year, giving it a market value of $ 131 billion.