 is to start trialling a “latte levy” by charging five pence for takeaway cups.){kind=link}
In attempts to reduce waste, Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) is to start trialling a “latte levy” by charging five pence for takeaway cups.
The chain has introduced this chain with hopes to encourage customers to use reusable coffee cups in a bit to tackle plastic waste.
The three-month trial is starting on Monday and will take place in 35 selected London branches.
While five pence may not seem like a dramatic increase, research has shown that 48 percent of us would definitely carry a reusable cup to not pay the extra charge.
Simon Redfern, the vice-president of communications at Starbucks Europe, said: “We’re hoping that this charge will remind customers to rethink their use of single-use plastic-lined cups, as it has with plastic bags,”
“We’ve offered a reusable cup discount for 20 years, with only 1.8 percent of customers currently taking up this offer, so we’re really interested in working with Hubbub to see how this charge could help to change behaviour and help to reduce waste.”
Starbucks is carrying out the trial in conjunction with environmental charity Hubbub, who will receive the levy to carry out additional research.
The Hubbub co-founder, Gavin Ellis, said: “Previous studies have shown that adding a charge on single-use cups is more effective than money off with a reusable cup. We’re excited to be working on this initiative with Starbucks to find out if this is the case on the high street and to discover what else will encourage people to use reusable cups.”
Previous initiatives by Hubbub include the Square Mile challenge campaign, which recycled 4 million cups in 2017 from the City of London over the space of nine months.
Pret A Manger is also increasing efforts to reduce waste from disposable cups and announced earlier this month plans to increase the discount to 50 pence for customers who had reusable cups. The chain also has plans to launch its own reusable cup later in 2018.