Starbucks has reached the next step in its effort to create a more sustainable cup. The brand, along with McDonald's and Closed Loop Partners, announced this morning 12 winners of the NextGen Cup Challenge, all of whom went through a four-month review process and were up against nearly 500 submissions. Here's everything you need to know about what comes next in the three-year challenge and what it actually means for you.
What is the NextGen Challenge?
It's a campaign that launched in 2018 with the goal of finding a solution for easily and widely recyclable and/or compostable cups.
What's the deal with the current cups?
Starbucks' current paper cups are made with 10 percent post-consumer recycled fiber. The inside of the cups have a thin liner that is necessary to prevent leaks; it's very common in the food industry. However, these liners aren't so easy to recycle. Big cities like New York, Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. have the infrastructure in place to recycle cups with this kind of liner, but it's not possible to do so everywhere at this point. So the goal is to make a cup that can be recycled, composted, and reused nationwide.
Who is involved?
Starbucks and McDonald's were among the first to sign on with Closed Loop Partners, the investment platform behind the challenge, and brands like Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Wendy's, and Yum! Brands (which owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell) have since pledged support too.
What do the winners do next?
These teams will get a portion of up to $1 million dollars in funding to move forward with their ideas. From there, up to six winners will enter the NextGen Circular Business Accelerator, where they will receive more support to test and pilot their products and work with suppliers to figure out how to actually get the ideas onto shelves and into stores.
How does this affect me?
Eventually, the new, more sustainable cups will find their way into stores. In the meantime, recycle or compost your cup whenever possible! And if you don't already have a reusable cup, consider buying one—Starbucks gives a 10-cent discount to customers who bring any reusable cup into participating stores. Starbucks also sells $2 reusable hot cups that look nearly identical to their classic white cup in stores. If you're more of an iced coffee junkie, there's a cold cup version, too.
