Tim Hortons Will Let You Order With Your Reusable Cup & Give You A 10¢ Discount If You Do

It's the time of year when a season's worth of littered red Tim Hortons cups — once buried under the snow — begin blowing through the streets of Montreal. But starting this Wednesday, April 6, the fast-food chain is reintroducing a 10-cent discount for customers who bring in a clean, reusable cup. All drinks, including cold beverages like Iced Capps and Cold Brew, will qualify for the rebate.

Takeaway coffee cups are not recyclable due to the plastic lining and can often take up to 30 years to decompose once thrown away. While Tim Hortons has made strides in recent years to improve its green footprint, it stopped letting guests bring in their own drinkware at the start of the pandemic in an effort to reduce employees' exposure to COVID-19.

"We've been looking forward to accepting reusable cups again and have been working hard with Tim's restaurant owners to ensure we do so safely and consistently," said Tim Hortons' Senior Director of Innovation and Sustainability Paul Yang in a press release.

Staff will not wash dirty containers for customers or use ones that are cracked. Anyone bringing their own cup through a drive-thru must show it has a lid.

The chain is releasing a new line of reusable stainless steel mugs, tumblers, and straws at the end of the month.

"In 2019, we reduced our usage of single-use cups by serving nearly 15 million hot beverage orders in reusable cups. By offering the option of getting cold beverages served in reusable cups, the potential to reduce the use of single-use cups is even greater," said Yang.

The chain is also planning to update its app to let customers order ahead and notify restaurants they have their own cup. Drinks will be prepared in a reusable in-restaurant cup and then transferred to the customer's cup when they arrive.