Vancouver — In reaction to Tim Hortons’ announcement of the modernization of its iconic Roll Up the Rim to Win contest and its commitment to move toward reusables, Sarah King, Greenpeace Canada’s Head of Oceans & Plastics Campaign said:
“We are pleased to see that Tim Hortons is committing to go beyond the disposable cup by incentivizing its customers to use reusables during its Roll Up the Rim contest. We need a mass culture shift away from single-useness, and we need major companies to drive it. We encourage Tim Hortons to act swiftly to take this positive step to the next level and commit to reduce its plastic footprint once and for all to address its role in the growing waste and pollution crisis.”
Last year, Tim Hortons produced 260,000,000 single-use coffee cups for the Roll Up The Rim contest alone. In a country-wide review of 20 major municipalities, Greenpeace discovered that the combination of cups and lids were not collected for recycling or composting in 15 of the 20. Cross-country cleanups have revealed that these and other single-use plastic items are a common form of pollution. To reduce single-use plastic cup production and consumption, various restaurants in Canada and around the world have launched reusable cup-share programs, phasing out their reliance on disposables. Tim Hortons announced this morning their “10-year commitment to change consumer perceptions and habits towards using reusable cups,” but the full details have not yet been revealed.
“Tim Hortons’ vow to change consumer habits towards using reusable cups is the right direction for the coffee sector who has based its business model on the throwaway culture. We are hopeful that Tim Hortons will lead the fast-food industry into a new era of replacing all disposables with reusables, starting with its iconic plastic cups” concluded King.
ENDS.
For more information, please contact:
Laura Bergamo, Communications officer, Greenpeace Canada
[email protected], +1 438 928-5237
