OK folks. I have been thinking about this for a long time now but I finally emailed the folks at Dunkin Donuts to see if I receive any input from the corporate machine. We shall see.
I'm sure you all have had the chance to enjoy a refreshing cup of iced coffee from the local DD. You know, double brewed for your tastebud pleasure, available in every imaginable flavor from blueberry to my personal favorite, Coconut!!!
Well, have you ever checked the recycling label on those puppies? That's right, they serve the DD iced coffees in #2 Plastic Solo cups! Easily recycled by almost every community in the country. I find myself saving these cups every day and transporting them home to my good old City of Providence Recycling bin whenever I get the chance. Many of them get lost for a few days in my car (I travel a lot)... but they eventually find their way to the bin. Which made me start thinking...
WHY DOESN'T DUNKIN DONUTS OFFER RECYCLING BINS IN THEIR STORE?
Sure, you could pose this question to any fast food restaurant. But with DD, you have billions of plastic cups (of the most easily recyclable variety) going into the trash can every day. I read somewhere that 25% of Americans do not recycle at all! I am not aware of similar materials being used at places like McDonald's (mainly because I avoid those places like the plague), but please... correct me if I'm wrong (I do hear those Mickey D's iced coffee commercials every day).
And so it begins. I wrote to DD corporate today. I will post a response if I do receive one. They'll probably just send me coupons for a free coffee or something, but I am still hoping for an intelligible response. So now, I am asking you, faithful blog reader:
- Have you ever seen a recycling program at a coffee/restaurant chain?
- Do you have any information regarding how similar chains could profit from such a recycling program?
- Have you seen a recycling program used to generate more business? Customer incentives or discounts?
Thanks for your interest. We'll see what happens.
