Bring Your Own Cup

Using your own reusable cup reduces waste and the environmental impacts from using single-use cups. Reusable cups also help keep your beverage hot or cold and allow you to enjoy it on the go without waste.

Yes! The Washington State Retail Food Code allows consumer-owned beverage containers to be refilled by food establishments. The beverage container must be easily cleanable, intended for repeated use, and visibly clean.

Follow these three easy steps:

1. Make sure your cup is clean before handing it to the person serving you.
2. Know what size drink your reusable cup holds (e.g. 8 oz., 10 oz., 12 oz., etc.) before you order.
3. Hang on to your lid while your drink is being prepared.

You will save money on single-use cups as well, time spent taking out the trash and restocking cups, and space needed for their storage. When customers use their own cup, they are reducing waste and the environmental impacts from using single-use cups. You might also benefit from customer loyalty and an improved customer experience.

• Ask customers if their drink is for here or to go. For dine-in customers, ask if they would like to use one of your store’s reusable cups. 
• Offer discounts to incentivize customers to bring their own cup. Most discounts range from 10 to 50 cents. If applying a discount is difficult, you can charge for the smallest beverage size when customers use a reusable cup.
• Display a Bring Your Own Cup window cling(PDF, 631KB), informational flier(PDF, 542KB), or discount flier(PDF, 207KB) from the city.
• Use your social media platforms to post pictures of customers using their own cups or your store’s reusable cups. Advertise any discounts you have for reusable cups.

Yes. The Washington State Retail Food Code allows consumer-owned beverage containers to be refilled by food establishments. Consumer-owned beverage containers may be refilled with a drink by an establishment without a separate approved plan if:

• the container is designed to be easily cleaned;
• the container can be rinsed with fresh, running hot water at the food establishment;
• the employee ensures the container is visibly clean prior to refilling;
• the container is only refilled with a drink for the container’s owner; and
• the container is refilled by an employee or the container’s owner if using a dispensing system that prevents contamination.

If washing a cup for a customer prior to refilling is not possible or convenient, your establishment can choose to only accept clean customer-owned cups.

Follow these simple steps:

1. Ask the customer if they know the size of their cup.
2. If the customer doesn’t know the cup size, check on the bottom of the cup for a label. If there is no label, fill the customer’s reusable cup with water. Then, pour the water into a measuring vessel to determine how many ounces the container holds.
3. Confirm that the order size fits the customer’s cup. For example, if the customer’s cup holds 14 ounces and your typical beverage sizes are 8, 12, and 16 ounces, ask the customer if they want an 8-ounce or 12-ounce drink.