Tim Hortons begins trialling plastic-free coffee cup lids in Vancouver

The plastic-free lid trial will run for 12 weeks across Tim Hortons outlets in Vancouver | Photo credit: Tim Hortons

Tim Hortons is trialling plastic-free, recyclable fibre hot beverage lids as part of wider measures to reduce the use of single-use plastics across its 3,900 Canadian stores. 
 

The trial will run for 12 weeks across Tim Hortons outlets in Vancouver.  

Tim Hortons said the move compliments a Return-It pilot project operated in partnership with Encorp Pacific that enables customers to pay a deposit for a reusable and returnable cup.  

Since launching at 10 Vancouver stores in May 2022, the pilot project has grown to more than 60 cup return points across the city. 

Wider Tim Hortons measures to reduce single-use plastic will see the coffee chain introduce wooden and fibre cutlery across all Canadian stores in early 2023, eliminating an estimated use of 90 million single-use plastics a year. 

Tim Hortons will also begin offering customers reusable bags for purchase in January 2023. 

"Through our sustainability platform Tims for Good, we're always looking for ways, big and small, to make thoughtful choices on material and design in order to reduce and eliminate packaging and contribute to more sustainable innovation," said Paul Yang, Senior Director of Procurement, Sustainability and Packaging at Tim Hortons. 

The Canadian Government introduced an updated ban on harmful single-use plastics on 20 December 2022, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of harmful single-use plastics including checkout bags, cutlery, straws and foodservice ware made from, or containing, problematic plastics that are hard to recycle. 

As part of a Tims for Good pledge, Tim Hortons reported last year that it had changed over three billion units of packaging to make them reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and eliminated more than one billion single-use plastics in 2021.