Tim Hortons, McDonald’s Canada stop accepting reusable cups amid coronavirus
The temporary move follows similar decisions by Starbucks and The Second Cup Ltd. announced last week
TORONTO – Tim Hortons and McDonald’s Canada are the latest coffee purveyors to stop accepting reusable mugs brought in by customers amid concerns about the novel coronavirus outbreak.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and plan to reintroduce the policy at a later time,” wrote McDonald’s Canada spokeswoman Veronica Bart in an email.
Tim Hortons said in a statement on Mar. 6 that it has made the change after listening to its restaurant owners and comments from its customers, even though health officials have not recommended any changes to its current procedures.
The temporary move follows similar decisions by Starbucks and The Second Cup Ltd. announced last week.
Related: Starbucks, Second Cup halt use of reusable cups amid coronavirus outbreak
All four chains indicated they are taking extra precautionary measures. These include increasing the number of times cafes are cleaned each day, restricting business-related air travel until the end of March, recommending that areas people touch frequently such as kiosks are cleaned more often, and purchasing extra essential cleaning materials that may be needed in the coming months.
Tim Hortons has also delayed plans to give away 1.8 million reusable cups for free as part of its Roll Up the Rim contest this year.
The reusable will be given away later this year.
