Next Wednesday, baristas at Costa Coffee will be pouring free coffee for all United Arab Emirates (UAE) customers who belly up to the coffee bar bearing personal reusable cups.The giveaway celebrates World Environment Day 2019, which falls on June 5th.
Earlier this year, the company reduced the price of all its coffee drinks by AED2 (about half a US dollar) for reusable cup-toting consumers. Since doing that, more than 20,000 customers have taken advantage of the offer, in the process diverting at least that many paper cups from UAE landfills.
Costa is now turning its attention to its straws, replacing the plastic variety with a fiber-based option that is less environmentally damaging. In partnership with Dubai International Airport (DXB), Costa has commissioned award-winning sculptor Mariska Nell to create an enormous globe, fully formed from 60,000 upcycled straws. The installation (image below) will be on display in DXB at Terminal 3 Arrivals from 31 May for passengers using the world’s busiest international airport to see, reminding them to take greater care of our planet.
“The food and drink industry is really waking up to the threat of plastic on the world’s environment and we as a company are committed to making changes to ensure a more sustainable offering,” head of marketing at Costa Coffee UAE Shemaine Jones told Time Out Dubai. “We commissioned Mariska to create the globe art installation using our old plastic straws to creatively highlight the vast use of plastic we are ridding from our stores and make travelers in the airport stop and think about their own sustainability efforts.”
Costa is also introducing napkins and cupholders made from recycled materials in all stores to help reduce paper wastage in the region. For more information on the offers and initiatives at Costa, head to the company’s Instagram page or visit their corporate website.
