Starbucks temporarily bans reusable mugs to help contain coronavirus
The epidemic has left businesses scrambling to implement measures that will help contain the spread of coronavirus.
The spread of coronavirus is putting pressure on the biggest corporations in the world to protect their employees and customers from the epidemic without compromising their business and functionality.
There are over 30,000 Starbucks locations worldwide with millions of customers each day and the high volume of traffic has prompted the company to temporarily ban reusable mugs.
Starbucks released a statement on March 4 saying that they are “pausing the use of personal cups and ‘for here’ ware in our stores,” and have “restricted all business-related air travel, domestic and international through March 31.”
Environmentally-conscious customers will still receive the 10-cent discount if they bring in a personal cup or tumbler and will be given a paper cup to use instead.
"We are optimistic this will be a temporary situation," the statement reads.
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The statement says that all company-operated stores will be cleaned and sanitized more frequently to help contain the spread of germs. There are over 1,400 Starbucks locations across Canada and these policies will be in place at each location.
Starbucks launched the bring-your-own-mug campaign in 2010 to reduce paper waste and it is just one of their most noticeable efforts to become more sustainable. Increased consumer demand for sustainable and recyclable materials has prompted businesses to explore new options, such as the strawless plastic lids that Starbucks now offers.
The severity of the coronavirus epidemic is pressuring companies to prioritize the health and safety of employees and customers, which has inadvertently resulted in environmental impacts.
International air travel has seen a swift decline due to fears of the epidemic and many airlines are cancelling flights due to the drop in demand, which will undoubtedly lead to a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation industry during this period of time.
China releases more greenhouse gas emissions than any other country on Earth and the nation has seen a 25 per cent decline in carbon dioxide emissions due to the partial shutdown of many industrial activities in recent weeks. National nitrous oxide emissions, mainly from vehicles and power plants, have decreased by nearly 36 per cent and domestic flights have declined 70 per cent.
While the decline in greenhouse gas emissions during the heightening epidemic is notable, it has been shown throughout history that environmental changes during stressful periods of time rarely last. This is because sustainable projects are often deprioritized for other pressing issues and fossil fuel emissions will likely surge once daily industrial production and travel resume.
