You Can Now Use Your Own Personal Cup At All Michigan Starbucks Locations

The new year brings exciting changes.

Beginning January 3, 2024 Starbucks locations across The Mitten will now allow customers to use their own personal cups for nearly all orders.

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Now, you may be wondering why this is even a big deal and I believe the answer is twofold: it will reduce waste but more importantly, it prevents me from drinking cold coffee!

As a Millennial I am no stranger to both Starbucks or recycling. I'm part of the Green Generation after all so "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" is basically my spiritual mantra. Which makes it especially tough when I want my deliciously commercialized latte on the go.

I don't want to put yet another disposable cup into the landfill but convenient chain coffee shops generally make it policy to not accept personal cups from customers. What's a girl to do?

Thankfully this is no longer an issue as CNN reports Starbucks locations nationwide and across Canada have begun accepting personal cups for nearly all orders. Of course, there are a few caveats in the name of safety and hygiene:

• The cups must be cleaned before bringing them to the store; baristas can not clean your cup for you
• The vessel may not be more than 40 ounces

The option to use personal mugs was available to customers pre-pandemic, but back then it was only available for beverages made in-store. Beginning today customers will now have the option to select personal mug use in-app under "customizations".

For each personal mug use Starbucks customers will receive a 10 cent discount and rewards members will receive 25 points. The new option is only available via Starbucks and not third-party delivery apps like UberEats.

Starbucks chief sustainability officer Michael Kobori says,

Offering customers more options to use a personal cup when they visit Starbucks marks tangible progress towards the future. We know our customers are passionate about the planet, and now, they can join us in our efforts to give more than we take, no matter how they order.

I know several local coffee shops who offer similar incentives, but what about Michigan-based coffee chain Biggby? I would love to see this across major coffee chains worldwide! Find more details on the new Starbucks policy here.