After Starbucks reopened their Seattle headquarters back up last week, many employees noticed the coffee chain’s signature disposable paper and plastic cups were nowhere to be found, and had been replaced by reusable cups and mugs instead.

An ambitious change that the company is trying to implement into the rest of its cafes worldwide by 2025, plans to eliminate the 7 billion plastic cups that are currently being disposed each year.

In order to accomplish this, Starbucks is working on a project called the “borrowing cup program” where customers borrow mugs and cups to drink while in the store, and return them to be washed and reused by other customers in order to reduce waste. 

This program would make the grab and go coffee shop we know today more of a local cafe experience. This project was intended to start in early 2020, but with the Covid-19 pandemic many plans were put on hold, but Starbucks vice president took this set back as a blessing in disguise.

“We’re doing so many tests to understand how that is most convenient for our customers and won’t slow the drive-thru line down for the person behind you and is also operationally friendly for our partners,” Amelia Landers, Starbucks’ vice president of product innovation, said in an interview with CNBC.

Disposable cups and lids make up around 40% of the company’s packaging waste, according to its chief sustainability officer, Michael Kobori. 

By eliminating the iconic Starbucks cup, 20% of the company’s global footprint will be reduced and will hopefully work to spark a environmentally conscious mindset into customers. 

“I get Starbucks every morning before school and I can admit if you step into my car you will find at least six plastic cups getting ready to be thrown away. I think it’s important that we all work together to try and reduce waste because our environment will thank us,”, said junior Silvana Levito.