Collaborative cup reuse initiative unites beverage giants in California

USA – Major beverage brands, including the Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee, and Yum! Brands, are joining forces to boost beverage cup returns in California through the Petaluma Reusable Cup project.

Starting August 5, over 30 restaurants in Petaluma will replace single-use cups with reusable to-go cups for all customers, supported by cup return points across the city.

“It takes an entire community to build the future of reuse that we want to see,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks’ chief sustainability officer.

“Our environmental promise is core to our business, and that’s why we’re working toward a future vision of every Starbucks beverage served in a reusable cup.

“Together with fellow foodservice brands, local stores, and community stakeholders, we’re leading this initiative to help further unlock behavior change toward reusables, making it easy for our customers, and any customer, to choose to reuse and reduce waste.”

The project, established by the NextGen Consortium and led by the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners, aims to activate an unprecedented amount of reuse.

Running until November, it will collect baseline data measuring customer participation and the environmental impact of offering reusables as the default choice. This data will help determine if the model is operationally viable for scaling.

Businesses and regulators can leverage data from the initiative to design new reuse systems and draft well-informed packaging regulations.

The program is the first in the US to make reusable to-go cups the default option across an entire city. This mix of national chains, local independent restaurants, convenience stores, community hubs, and public locations is powerful in shaping consumer habits and cultural norms.

In the US, 50 billion single-use cups are purchased and disposed of annually, most of which come from restaurants or are disposed of at home, work, or school.

Research from the Center for the Circular Economy indicates these cups have an average lifespan of less than one hour before becoming waste.

Although reuse is growing quickly, using personal cups and existing takeaway reusable cup systems still faces low adoption or returns.

“To create a world without packaging waste, we need to ensure that food packaging reuse systems are scaled in a way that creates a positive environmental impact – meeting the current needs of people while driving a cultural shift toward reuse,” said Kate Daly, managing director and head of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners.

“By testing reuse across an entire city in partnership with key stakeholders from the community and industry, we can scale reuse collaboratively through thoughtful experimentation, building a future where reuse is the norm.”

Petaluma was selected for the initiative due to the city’s receptiveness to businesses and consumers adopting reuse and its policy environment, which promotes the phase-out of non-recyclable single-use packaging.

The city also participated in a returnable cup test at participating Starbucks locations in 2023. Closed Loop Partners noted that Petaluma’s size and dense layout, with its cluster of restaurants and shops within walking distance and proximity to suburban and rural areas, create ideal conditions for testing a reuse system for to-go cups.

Collaboration with local stakeholders has helped adapt the initiative to local policy and infrastructure, identify optimal return points across the city, and engage the community.

“The City of Petaluma is laying the groundwork to make cup reuse not only an option but the default,” said Kevin McDonnell, Mayor of Petaluma.

“We have an amazing, engaged community, and we look forward to assisting the success of this program alongside our local restaurants and participating global brands that serve our community.”

Leslie Lukacs, executive director at Zero Waste Sonoma, added, “Imagine a neighborhood where all to-go cups are reusable, and returning these cups required no extra steps.

“By making reusable cups as convenient and accessible as single use, we can offer an alternative for residents when they forget to bring their own cups with them. Universal accessibility creates the foundation for a cultural shift toward reuse.”

The Petaluma Reusable Cup Project will install over 60 cup return bins across Petaluma. After use and return, participating businesses and customers will collect, wash, and recirculate the reusable cups for future use.

For all the latest packaging and printing industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel.