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Starbucks does not need disposable cups? what is Starbucks Recycling Cup? Japan's Starbucks tries out reusable cups

Published: 2026-05-16 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/05/16, Starbucks in Japan has also proposed a trial of reusable cups. According to related reports: Japan Starbucks coffee from the 22nd of this month, Japan Starbucks provides reusable cups to reduce the use of disposable coffee cups. Reusable cups are mainly for takeout orders, and consumers can use smart hands.

Starbucks in Japan has also proposed a trial of reusable cups.

According to related reports: Japan Starbucks coffee from the 22nd of this month, Japan Starbucks provides reusable cups to reduce the use of disposable coffee cups. Reusable cups are mainly for takeout orders, and consumers can choose borrowed cups through their smartphones and return them to the store for disinfection and reuse.

The used reusable cups will be recycled, cleaned and disinfected by the coffee cup supplier. It is understood that the project is currently being tested in 10 Starbucks stores in Japan until the end of May next year. Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, there has been an increase in the number of customers spending as takeout, so they hope to reduce waste through "reusable cups", according to a Starbucks official in Japan. the company points out that its goal is to reduce waste by 50 per cent by 2030. In August this year, in order to reduce food waste, Starbucks in Japan also announced a new measure: Starbucks in Japan simultaneously offered a 20% daily food discount before closing its local stores. This practice has also been implemented in Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture for a month in March this year, and received a good response, so Starbucks decided to extend this activity to the whole of Japan. At that time, a number of media reported that, according to the statistics of Starbucks in Japan, about 15% of the food waste in its stores was expired food. In order to solve and reduce the above unsold food waste, Starbucks decided to implement a food discount program, that is, each store will sell cakes, sandwiches and doughnuts at a 20% discount about three hours before closing, depending on the inventory of the day. In addition, Starbucks said that part of the revenue from discount sales will be donated to the local NPO legal person National Children's Canteen support Center Musubie to help poor children. The news that Starbucks in Japan has begun to test the water for reusable cups is not much of a surprise, after Starbucks launched the event in many places. In June, Starbucks announced that it would stop using disposable paper cups by 2025, including all Starbucks stores in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), in an effort to reduce the amount of disposable waste shipped to landfills. The plan aims to halve carbon emissions, water use and waste by 2030. As early as March, Starbucks also launched a campaign to phase out disposable cups in all Starbucks stores in South Korea, and launched a "cup cycle" project in South Korea in June, under which customers only need to pay a "small deposit" to get reusable cups, which can be returned to contactless kiosks after use.

The reusable cup was also tried out for two months at five stores in Seattle, USA, when the Borrow a cup showed that customers had to pay a deposit of $1 before ordering a drink before taking the cup away, and after returning the cup, consumers could not only get the deposit back, but also get 10 extra reward stars.

According to Starbucks' long-term environmental protection plan, perhaps in the near future, Starbucks in more regions will try to reuse cups in order to comply with the general trend of green environmental protection.

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