Starbucks Japan has been making an effort to reduce waste over the last few years. Just last November, the coffee giant opened its first Greener Store near Tokyo’s Imperial Palace in the hope of lowering carbon emissions and reducing landfill waste. Now, Starbucks is looking to swap out the plastic cups used for iced drinks with reusable glasses instead.
The glass tumblers will be rolled out on Monday April 18 at 106 Starbucks locations in Japan. Don’t worry if you’re a grab-and-go coffee drinker – the glasses are only for in-store beverages. Glasses will be available for all iced drink orders in short and tall sizes while grande and venti sizes are only available at select stores. If you still insist on a disposable plastic cup, you can request that, too.
The new move is one of four initiatives Starbucks Japan is introducing to reduce waste by 50 percent by 2030. Other initiatives include serving iced drinks without a plastic lid, stocking reusable cutlery made from plant-derived materials, and having more stores offer reusable rental tumblers. The last initiative may sound familiar as the returnable tumbler service was introduced to Tokyo last year to curb the use of single-use coffee cups.
More from Time Out Tokyo
Two of Shibuya’s biggest clubs are closing this September
Charities that accept donations in Japanese yen for Covid-19 and war relief
There’s a secret parfait bar in Shibuya serving dessert and cocktail pairings
Ghibli Park just opened its first attraction – the Castle in the Sky elevator tower
Kanto's largest tulip festival has 550,000 blooms – and it’s near Tokyo
Want to be the first to know what’s cool in Tokyo? Sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates from Tokyo and Japan.