Tim Hortons Launches Anti-littering Campaign In Atlantic Canada

HALIFAX (Monday, June 27, 2005) - Tim Hortons is hoping a message given to children at playtime will also work with consumers who litter the landscape: pick up after yourselves.

The retail giant launched an education campaign Wednesday in Atlantic Canada that urges its customers to properly dispose of the company's ubiquitous brown paper cups and bags. Signs that say "Don't let litter spoil our neighbourhood" will be posted in Tim Hortons franchises across the region this summer, while similar ads will be featured on radio.

Stephen Johnston, Tim Hortons regional vice-president of operations, told a news conference that his company is committed to becoming more environmentally friendly.

But he said consumers must also take responsibility.

"It is time for us to work with our customers to ensure that they do their part as well," said Johnston.

"This is not just a Tim Hortons problem. It is a shared problem. The people throwing out our cups are also part of the problem. We need to focus on them and that behaviour as well."

The company's move comes amid complaints from individuals and environmental groups in Atlantic Canada who say the chain hasn't done enough to deal with the proliferation of pollution from fast-food packaging.

In particular, some critics have taken aim at Tim Hortons for its decision to keep using coffee cups lined with a coating that can make recycling difficult.

Larry Lack, an outspoken resident of St. Andrews, N.B., has spent months collecting discarded Tim Hortons coffee cups during his daily dog-walking chores. Hundreds of them are now piled in his basement, waiting for the day when they can be recycled.

"Tim Hortons is a Canadian icon for good reasons but in many places we go, people are talking about how Tim's cups make up a big percentage of the waste," Lack said in a recent interview. "This company is in a position to change the landscape of Canada."

Indeed, criticism of the chain's coffee cups isn't limited to Atlantic Canada.

In Edmonton, an environmentalist came forward earlier this year to suggest Tim Hortons' Roll Up the Rim to Win contest, a Canadian ritual since its introduction in 1986, promotes waste and propagates littering.

People buy more coffee during the contest and often carelessly toss out the non-winning cups, said Don Dick, Alberta director of Pitch In Canada, a national non-profit organization.

Dick said the company should use small scratch cards instead of treated paper cups for the promotion.

Meanwhile, at least one convenience store chain in Atlantic Canada, Irving Mainway, has already switched to an all-paper variety of disposable coffee cup that is readily recyclable.

Johnston noted Wednesday that Tim Hortons paper cups are currently recycled in a part of southern New Brunswick, and the containers can be composted in several communities in the Atlantic region.

On a national level, he said Tim Hortons is also working toward making its paper cups easier to recycle, and perhaps even biodegradable.

In the meantime, the New Brunswick Solid Waste Association says consumers should be forced to pay a deposit when buying beverages in disposable cups.

Johnston rejected that idea.

"We don't need another deposit system," he said. "Our industry and our communities can deal with it without taxing the consumer any more than they already are."

Johnston also announced a partnership Wednesday with Clean Nova Scotia, a non-profit environmental organization that supports community litter cleanups across the province.

Steve Machat, executive director of Clean Nova Scotia, said Tim Hortons' new signs will help promote those cleanups, which currently involve up to 25,000 volunteers every year.

"It's a positive first step in trying to bring a key member of the business community to the table to open a dialogue about possible solutions around litter," he said.

But Machat also said big business should make more use of recyclable materials, and a deposit system for paper cups should be given some thought.

"It's an option that should be explored," he said. "It shouldn't be something that should be excluded right from the beginning."

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