Tim Hortons Announces Three Waste-Reduction Initiatives

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TORONTO — Tim Hortons is announcing three new initiatives in celebration of Waste Reduction Week, including the trial of a compostable and recyclable hot-beverage cup, a test of recycling in restaurants and the kickoff of a pilot project with zero-waste platform Loop using re-usable and returnable packaging.

For the hot-beverage cup, Tim Hortons is partnering with WestRock for a test launch. The cups will be made with up to 20 per cent post-consumer recycled content, allowing a greater portion of the cup’s paper fibre to be recovered in the re-pulping process.

“We’re proud to be taking this next step on our journey to develop cups that can be recycled anywhere in Canada, or that are compostable,” says Paul Yang, senior director of Sustainability and Packaging for Tim Hortons. “We will be working with government and industry stakeholders across Canada to share the results of the trial. We want to share our progress so we can work together toward developing the best solutions for everyone to use for a more sustainable future.”

Tim Hortons is also partnering with Vancouver-based Intuitive AI to pilot waste bins at 12 restaurants across Canada that will be equipped with a screen and product image recognition technology to identify packaging items that guests scan. The screen will instruct guests on whether the items scanned can be recycled, composted or wasted. The technology is currently installed at test restaurants in Vancouver and will be added to select restaurants in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia before the end of the year.

Finally, Tim Hortons is partnering with TerraCycle’s zero-waste platform Loop to pilot a program that will give guests the option of paying a $3 deposit and receiving re-usable and returnable cups or food containers to help reduce single-use waste. The pilot is launching on Nov. 1, 2021 at five restaurants in Burlington, Ont.

“Through this test we’ll start learning how guests respond to a re-usable and returnable packaging system — what they like or don’t like — with the aim of re-fining a system that is seamless and enjoyable for more guests in more cities in the future,” says Yang.

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