As part of its commitment to serve both people and the planet responsibly, Dunkin' Donuts, a leading retailer of hot, brewed coffee, today announced plans to eliminate all polystyrene foam cups in its global supply chain beginning in spring 2018, with a targeted completion date of 2020. In U.S. restaurants, Dunkin' Donuts will replace the foam cup with a new, double-walled paper cup. The majority of Dunkin' Donuts' international markets are currently using paper cups, and the brand will work with its franchisees to eliminate foam cups from the remaining international markets by the 2020 goal.
The new, double-walled paper cup is already in use at Dunkin' Donuts' next generation concept store, which opened in mid-January. It will be introduced at all Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in New York City and California in spring 2018, and will be phased in across the U.S. as supplier manufacturing capabilities ramp up.
The double-walled paper cup is made with paperboard certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard and will feature the current re-closable lid that Dunkin' customers know and love. Like Dunkin' Donuts' current hot beverage offerings, the new double-walled paper cup will come in four sizes -- small, medium, large and extra-large -- and will be used for all of the brand's hot beverages, including coffee, lattes, macchiatos, tea and hot chocolate. With heat retention properties equal to the company's foam cup, the new double-walled paper cup will keep beverages hot while keeping hands cool, without the need for a sleeve.
In 2011, Dunkin' Donuts announced that its number one sustainability goal was to find an environmentally friendlier coffee cup. Over the past several years, the brand has worked extensively to find a suitable replacement for the foam cup that met criteria for performance, environmental impact and cost. Dunkin' Donuts' transition to paper cups will remove nearly 1 billion foam cups from the waste stream annually.
