Would Metro Detroit be willing to replace disposable coffee cups with reusable ones?

Starbucks, McDonald’s launch pilot program in California

DETROIT – Americans use billions of coffee cups each year at Starbucks and McDonald’s alone.

Now, those chains are launching an experiment to reuse coffee cups. The Nextgen Cup Challenge could dramatically change our coffee-drinking routines.

Starbucks and McDonald’s launched the pilot program in California. They’re using smart cups that are equipped with RFID chips or QR codes for tracking.

The program wants people to take the cups to specific spots where they’ll be picked up, cleaned and used again.

“I would definitely reuse them,” a woman in Detroit said. “More than I should for coffee.”

“It might work in certain parts of the country,” a man in Detroit said. “Overall people want a fresh cup.”

The idea behind the trackers on the cups it to track where cups are and see which communities are most, or least, willing to reuse the cups.


About the Authors:

Nick joined the Local 4 team in February of 2015. Prior to that he spent 6 years in Sacramento covering a long list of big stories including wildfires and earthquakes. Raised in Sterling Heights, he is no stranger to the deep history and pride Detroit has to offer.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.