Emily Duprie
A customer of ‘Tim Hortons,’ a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain, shared her disdain for their new bio-degradable cardboard lids after ordering her morning caffeine and receiving a paper-flavored latte.
Based on the TikTok posted by (diycatgeek), it’s entirely fair to understand her frustration for a soggy paper lid, which by the way, has got to be a joke, right? I mean come on, Timmy’s! If you’re going to try and guilt your customers into using a biodegradable alternative, at least make it a good idea!
“Okay Tim Hortons….No,” she began the clip while holding her coffee cup, cardboard lid and all, in front of the camera. “Whose idea was this? It tastes horrible. You can’t drink through cardboard. Also, it gets all soggy and wet at the lid. It’s a bad idea!”
The clip collected thousands of comments with different opinions on the topic. Some were completely against the paper-product notion. One user commented, “If this is gonna be permanent, I will never buy Tim’s again.”
Others sat on the opposite side of the fence, reiterating a valid point that the company is just trying to cut down on their plastic use, which be that as it may, the mark most assume companies like Tim Hortons and Starbucks has hit, unfortunately has been missed entirely. See, plastic straws make up less than 1% of the world’s plastic pollution, so maybe, just maybe, there’s a bigger issue here.
‘I might hate this more than paper straws’ @diycatgeek wrote in her caption of the TikTok, sparking debate between viewers.
@diycatgeek I might hate this more than paper straws #timhortons #badidea #why? #fyp #tea
Many are aware of the paper straw movement, which kick-started the transition to other paper products being used at various restaurant establishments. The paper-product phenomenon all began with a viral video of a sea turtle, which if you have social media, you’ve probably seen before. In the video, a plastic straw is found jammed up the turtle’s nose, and is removed in a very unpleasant manner.
The video of the contaminated turtle sparked an outrage among the masses, particularly social media influencers and celebrities who practice “healthy living” and extreme forms of environmentalism that, in the end, don’t really make the difference they think it’s making.
The truth is, shaming consumers for using plastic straws and not paper ones is an easy way to place the blame of climate change and pollution onto the general public rather than the monstrously large, and very much guilty, companies that are responsible for more than 98% of the world’s plastic pollution.
Just look at your typical Starbucks or Tim Hortons cup as a whole. The entire cup and typically the lid as well, is made of single-use, non-recyclable plastics. Oh, but we sure are glad that the straw is paper! I could go on forever about how messed up the antics of capitalism are, but I’m a little too close to the edge of the rabbit hole, so back to the TikTok clip that ensued this conversation!
Viewers in the comment section had some good points to share as well.
Even Tim Hortons made an appearance, commenting on how the cardboard lid @diycatgeek had received was part of a trial run only in a few locations throughout Vancouver.
Other users shared their personal opinions on the topic, read them below and let us know what you think!
