Climate Talk

barista here: the reusable cup thing isn't working the way people think

I work in a busy café near a train station. We give a discount for bringing your own cup. Out of a few hundred drinks a day, maybe ten people use it, and it's the same ten people every week.

Meanwhile half the customers own a nice reusable cup. They've just left it at home. I've seen people buy a new one at the counter because they forgot theirs. Again.

Not saying the cups are pointless. I'm saying a discount alone doesn't change habits. Places that charge extra for disposable cups seem to see bigger shifts, from what I've read. Anyone work somewhere that tried that?