Busy city dwellers often like to enjoy an aromatic brew or different flavoured hand-shaken beverages as a pick-me-up, yet it would produce vast quantities of disposables, such as paper and plastic cups, lids and straws on a daily basis, posing a profound and adverse impact on the environment. In fact, consumers have an increasing awareness of “waste reduction”, and many would bring their own cups for purchasing drinks, with some traders offering incentives to encourage more consumers to bring their own cups. In order to understand the cooperativeness and the level of convenience provided by the catering industry in facilitating consumers to bring their own cups, the Consumer Council’s staff (“triallists”) posing as mystery shoppers conducted bring-your-own-cup (BYOC) trials at 20 beverage shops (“traders”) across Hong Kong that sell craft coffee and hand-shaken beverages, bringing their own cups to purchase take-out drinks. Results revealed that although all traders welcomed consumers to bring their own cups, the process was not entirely smooth on every occasion. Some traders did not provide clear information, including on the height restriction of self-brought cups, and the volume of various drinks, etc. Some triallists brought containers that were too tall to be placed under the drink dispensing outlet, necessitating the use of disposable paper cups instead; the staff of some traders could not accurately provide the actual volume of the drinks, resulting in self-brought cups being unable to hold the entire drink and thus leading to overflowing. Furthermore, in the process of making the drink, some traders would first use a take-out cup to hold the drink or ice cubes, before pouring the contents into the self-brought cups provided by the triallists, hence failing to serve the true purpose of eliminating disposables.
In addition, more than half (11) of the traders would offer BYOC discounts of $1 to $5 per cup or 10% discount, yet such information was not clearly displayed inside the shop, whereas some staff mistakenly charged the triallist the original price, or wrongly declared that there was no such discount. The Council is glad to see that many traders would offer discounts for consumers bringing their own cups, but relevant promotions and staff training should be enhanced, while the process of making the drinks should also be reviewed, to ensure that the goal of reducing the use of disposable cups could be met. Moreover, traders should clearly state on their social media, website and at prominent locations in-store the requirements on the height and capacity of self-brought cups, so as to facilitate consumers to put “waste reduction at source” into practice.
Between November and December 2024, the Council’s triallists posed as regular consumers in visiting 20 traders that sold freshly prepared drinks, patronising 3 different branches in different districts for each trader with self-brought cups to buy take-out drinks, with a total of 60 trials. 10 of the traders sold on-site crafted coffee (2 of which were convenience stores), whilst the other 10 traders sold hand-shaken beverages (7 of which were Taiwanese drinks, 3 were “hand-crushed” lemon tea). On each occasion, the triallists would ask the shop staff about the requirements for the self-brought cup and the discounts offered, while stating at the time of placing the order that self-brought cups would be used.
Incomplete or Vague Information from Traders Might Deter BYOC Practices
All 20 traders would accept consumers bringing their own cups to purchase drinks. For the overall satisfaction ratings based on the trials, more than 70% were rated as “satisfactory” or “very satisfactory”, with the experience at hand-shaken beverage shops rated better. Yet the process was not smooth on every occasion, sometimes the self-brought cups could not be used in the end. For example, in 1 convenience store that provided in-store made coffee, on 2 occasions the triallist’s self-brought cup was too tall and could not be placed directly under the dispensing outlet, hence a disposable paper cup had to be used, whereas the store lacked the relevant information to remind consumers. In comparison, another convenience store that sold in-store made coffee displayed information on the height and capacity of self-brought cups on their social media pages and in some of the branches respectively, such as the height of the cup should not exceed 15cm etc., providing clear instructions to consumers prior to purchase, which is an advisable approach.
Travel cups come in a vast variety of designs and sizes, yet some traders only indicated their drinks in rather vague terms as “Large”, “Small”, “Standard”, or “Normal” to differentiate the sizes, without specifying the actual volume. Occasionally, there was no clear answer even upon enquiring with shop staff, which could prove confusing for consumers. On 1 occasion, the triallist asked the shop staff when placing the order whether the self-brought cup of about 350ml in capacity could hold a “standard” sized iced coffee, but the staff did not respond directly, only asking the triallist to make reference to the sizes of the take-out paper cups in-store. As a result, the triallist’s self-brought cup overflowed even before the lid was put on, and the staff did not even try to assist in cleaning the cup. On the contrary, the practice of some traders should be emulated. For instance in 1 coffee shop, the menu clearly listed the price and volume of each hot and cold drink; in another hand-shaken beverage shop, information on the volume of medium and large cups, as well as the temperature that self-brought cups must be able to withstand, were displayed in prominent locations inside the shop premises, so that consumers would know whether their self-brought cups could hold their selected drinks.
Take-out Cups Still Used in the Process of Preparing Drinks
Ineffectual for Waste Reduction
The intention for bringing one’s own cup to purchase take-out drinks is to reduce waste at source, but some traders still used take-out cups in the process of making the drinks which defeats the purpose. In a large-scale fast food chain that sold in-store made coffee, the triallists on 3 trials at different branches had informed the shop staff at the time of purchase, as instructed, that they would use self-brought cups. They then handed over the self-brought cups to the shop staff. Yet the staff at all 3 shops still used take-out paper cups in preparing the drinks, before pouring the contents into the self-brought cups, thus failing to truly eliminate disposables, also contravening the food chain’s own “Green Operations” philosophy and promotions, to the deep disappointment of the Consumer Council. Furthermore, a similar situation happened in a convenience store that sold in-store made coffee. When purchasing an iced coffee during a trial, the triallist was informed by the shop staff that the ice cubes came pre-packed inside a plastic cup with a lid. The staff then poured the ice cubes into the self-brought cup before making the iced coffee. On the contrary, another convenience store had an ice machine adjacent to the self-service coffee maker, allowing consumers to use and control the amount of ice in accordance with personal preference, which is more environmentally friendly. The Council recommends traders to review and enhance the production process of take-out drinks in implementing the concept of eliminating disposables.
Over Half of the Traders Offered BYOC Discounts
Clear Displays and Enhanced Staff Training Needed
To encourage consumers to take environmental action, 11 of the traders provided discounts to consumers who brought their own cups, 7 of which sold in-store made coffee, while 4 sold hand-shaken beverages. Except for 1 coffee shop that provided an across-the-board 10% discount for consumers bringing their own cups, the other 10 traders provided discounts of $1 to $5 per cup, but 1 hand-shaken beverage shop had more stringent requirements for discounts, stipulating that consumers must use their designated cooler cups.
Despite more than half of the traders providing BYOC discounts, triallists discovered that not every trader had displayed the relevant information clearly. As an example, in 1 coffee shop that provided a $5 discount, the triallist had found during 3 trials that the related information was only displayed in relatively fine print at the bottom of a giant wall-mounted menu, and not publicised through in-store posters, electronic displays, pamphlets, etc.; hence consumers might not notice and would miss out on the discount. In another hand-shaken beverage shop, discounts were offered for BYOC and for not using straws respectively; yet during 3 trials, the triallist only noted 1 time when the electronic display panel had shown the related discounts. In another convenience store that provided BYOC discount, the related information was only listed out on the official website but not displayed in the shop premises.
On the other hand, for a small percentage of traders, the trials revealed inconsistencies in the way different branches implemented BYOC discounts, with some not giving out any discount at all. In the shop of 1 coffee chain which had clearly indicated both on its official website and in-store menus a BYOC discount of $5 per drink, the shop staff charged the original price during 1 trial. Upon checking the receipt, the triallist enquired with the shop staff, who admitted that they had forgotten to input the discount into the cash register system and refunded the price difference right away. In another coffee shop which listed on its official website a BYOC discount of $3 per cup, during 1 trial the shop staff charged the regular price and stated that their shop did not offer any discount for self-brought cups. In its subsequent reply to the Council, the trader claimed that newly hired staff and part-time staff may not fully understand the company’s policies and discounts, and the trader undertook to strengthen staff training to prevent such a mishap from happening again. The Council is pleased to see more traders offering BYOC discounts to encourage consumers to support a disposable-free culture, but traders should strengthen their publicity and ensure that frontline staff clearly understand the related discounts and implementation details. It is anticipated that more consumers would change their habits in purchasing drinks, so that being free of disposables could be realised more effectively.
Consumers may refer to the following tips from the Council when bringing their own cups to purchase drinks:
- Browse the traders’ official websites and social media platforms beforehand to obtain information on the restrictions and policies relating to the use of self-brought cups;
- Bring a travel cup suitable for the specific type of drink, with particular attention to its capacity and height, to prevent overflowing that leads to waste, or the risk of having a cup too tall to fit under the drink dispensing outlet;
- Prior to use, thoroughly clean and wipe dry the travel cup to ensure its hygiene;
- Inform the shop staff at the time of purchase that a self-brought cup would be used, so as not to disrupt the drink-making process;
- If a BYOC discount is offered by the trader, consumers should check the receipt after placing the order and inform the shop staff forthwith if there is any overcharging.
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