OTTAWA — A trio of young people in Calgary are challenging Canada's iconic coffee chain to use its popular contest to get Canadians to kick their cup addiction.
Twelve-year-olds Mya Chau and Eve Helman, and 16-year-old Ben Duthie, have nearly 105,000 signatures on a change.org petition asking Tim Hortons to replace its existing disposable coffee cups with a compostable version, or at least one that can be recycled everywhere in Canada.
The three say an upcoming Roll Up the Rim to Win contest — which launches Wednesday — would be a perfect opportunity for the coffee chain to encourage Canadians to bring in reusable cups by moving the contest entirely online or running a digital version that offers two chances to win instead of one.
The three note the plastic coating inside the coffee cups means most Canadian municipal recycling systems are unable to handle them and millions of them end up in landfills each year.
Last year Chau and Helman petitioned Starbucks to build a better cup and Duthie was part of an effort that convinced Starbucks to ban plastic straws.
Restaurant Brands International, which owns Tim Hortons, has yet to respond to the petition directly.