Tim Hortons is in the process of introducing paper straws in its 4,000 restaurants in Canada and plans to complete the transition from plastic by early 2021.
Almost 90 Tim Hortons restaurants in and near Vancouver have already eliminated the use of plastic straws. It's estimated that the full transition to paper straws will eliminate around 300 million plastic straws from Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada over the next year.
"We take seriously our responsibility to help contribute to a cleaner Canada and we know our guests are eager to support us on our mission to reduce waste, encourage the use of reusable cups and dishes when it is safe to do so, and recycle and use recyclable materials," said Hope Bagozzi, Chief Marketing Officer.
Tim Hortons welcomed the federal government's announcement on Wednesday detailing a plan to eliminate harmful single-use plastics. The following details the progress Tim Hortons has already made on the single-use plastic items the government has identified as priorities to eliminate:
- Plastic straws will be eliminated by early 2021, keeping around 300 million plastic straws from Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada over the next year.
- Plastic stir sticks were already eliminated last year, with an estimated impact of eliminating 168 million pieces of plastic annually.
- Plastic bags are limited to bulk orders, already eliminated in locations including Vancouver, Victoria and Newfoundland and Labrador. Will be eliminated in all restaurants in 2021.
- The testing of compostable cutlery is ongoing.
In addition to phasing out plastic straws, Tim Hortons launched a new strawless lid for iced cold beverages last year, which was estimated to remove 90 million plastic straws out of circulation annually. Meanwhile, the latest hot beverage lid introduced last year is made from polypropylene, a material that is 100 percent recyclable and accepted in 95 percent of curbside recycling programs across Canada. The lid continues to be rolled out to restaurants across the country.
