Dunkin’ Donuts is putting a lid on its trademark styrofoam coffee cups in light of the city’s new ban on the eco-unfriendly material, company officials announced on Thursday.
The coffee giant said all its 536 shops throughout the five boroughs will comply with the ban, which Mayor de Blasio announced on Thursday.
The company is currently testing new types of cups for its famous java, including a “double-walled paper cup,” said Michelle King Sr., the chain’s public relations director.
The ban goes into effect in July.
Not everyone was happy.
Dunkin’ manager Taslima Khatun, 24, has worked at a Midtown West branch for three years, and thinks that the styrofoam cops are the best.
“Two hours, three hours, it’s still hot,” she said. “It’s very good.”
She said customers agree with her.
“Sometimes, every five or three days a customer wants a paper cup,” she added. “But people like this cup.
June Cai, 27, who owns New Li Yuan Restaurant and Bakery in Midtown, said the ban will likely force him to raise prices.
“Plastic containers are more expensive,” he said.
De Blasio says the ban is necessary to help the environment. “These products … and have no place in New York City. We have better options, better alternatives,” said de Blasio.
Items that are packed in foam and manufactured outside the city, but shipped to be sold in New York stores, are exempt.
Michael Westerfield of foam manufacturer Dart Container Corp. called the ban a “bad decision.”
“All they’re really banning is takeout,” he said. “There’s still going to be packaging and foam boxes.”
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