Waste within Coffee Shops

Every year, coffee shops hand out an estimated 250 billion paper cups (Fresh Cup Magazine 2019), and then 99% of these end up in landfills (KeepCup 2017). However, cups are not the only item which mass produces waste within coffee shops. Food containers, straws, milk cartons, syrup bottles, a small amount of the things that end up as waste in coffee shops. Offering the used coffee grounds to customers to use in gardens is a popular alternative to throwing it away. These grounds are beneficial as fertilizer, good for absorbing strong odours, and ideal to deter pests from eating your plants. Using mugs and glasses for all sit in food and drink, as well as reusable cutlery is an easy way to cut down on waste from cups and takeaway bags. As well as that, the amount of actual food and drink that go to waste is something that is rarely documented. In 2019, BBC Watchdog found that the majority of coffee shop chains such as Starbucks, Costa, and Caffe Nero were throwing away unsold food at the end of the day, rather than donating it to good causes. They called 100 stores, and 53 said they throw out leftover food. These 53 branches were Costa Coffee, Starbucks, and Caffe Nero. The 20 Pret stores called said they gave leftover food to charity, and 19/20 of the Greggs’ said they either donated it or sent it back to the business for recycling (BBC 2019). How can I adapt this feedback into my business plan? Let’s go the next post!