Feb. 8 (UPI) — Dunkin’ Donuts announced Wednesday it will entirely eliminate polystyrene foam coffee cups from its stores worldwide within two years.
The company said a double-walled paper cup, compliant with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard, will replace the foam cups.
The phase-out of foam cups will begin this spring and be complete by 2020, the Massachusetts-based chain said in a statement Wednesday.
Officials said a new Dunkin’ Donuts store in Quincy, Mass., is already using the new cup, which comes in four sizes.
“With more than 9,000 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the U.S. alone, our decision to eliminate foam cups is significant for both our brand and our industry,” Karen Raskopf of Dunkin’ Brands said in the statement. “We have a responsibility to improve our packaging, making it better for the planet while still meeting the needs of our guests.”
The company started looking for an environmentally friendly coffee cup in 2011, with a plan to use cups that are more easily recyclable than the non-degradable polystyrene foam variety.
The transition to paper cups will eliminate nearly one billion foam coffee cups every year, Dunkin’ Donuts said.
