Dunkin' says it has officially transitioned to paper cups at all of its global restaurants, eliminating "approximately one billion foam cups from the waste stream annually." Two years ago, the company vowed to phase out its polystyrene foam cups, in use for 20 years. Double-walled paper cups, with "heat retention properties comparable to the prior foam cups," will now be used in the US, according to a Monday statement.
While the company acknowledges that some Dunkin' restaurants may still have a stockpile of foam cups, it says its distribution centers are no longer offering them, "making only the new, double-walled paper cups available to Dunkin' US franchisees." The paperboard cups aren't recyclable but they are more environmentally friendly than the foam cups, which were made from petroleum, per CBS Boston. Dunkin' plans to have recyclable cup lids available in the US by the end of summer, per WTHR. (More Dunkin' Donuts stories.)