Starbucks now allows customers to use personal cups for orders

(WISH) — Starbucks is now allowing customers who use the drive thru to use their own personal cup, the company announced.

The policy went into effect Wednesday.

The option was already available for in-store orders.

Starbucks said customers should inform employees, at the drive-thru, that they have brought their own cup.

Starbucks said customers’ cups must be clean and hold less than 40 ounces.

The company said in a news release Wednesday the new policy was effort to cut down on waste. The only requirement is that cups must be clean.

A barista will then collect the cup at the pickup window using a “contactless vessel” and return the cup with the customer’s beverage of choice in the same way “to ensure hygiene and safety,” according to CBS News, citing a news release from Starbucks.

Customers can receive a 10-cent discount or 25 Starbucks Rewards Bonus Stars at participating stores each time they fill up using their own cup, CBS News reported.

“Offering customers more options to use a personal cup when they visit Starbucks marks tangible progress towards the future,” Starbucks Chief Sustainability Officer Michael Kobori said in a statement.

Customers can find the option available on the app, as well.

Until now, Starbucks drive-thru customers have been served drinks in cups made of paper and plastic, which are difficult to recycle, according to CBS News, citing a release from the company.