Waitrose also claims the change will save 221 tonnes of plastic and more than 665 tonnes of paper a year.
Members of the supermarket’s loyalty scheme, myWaitrose, will continue to have the option to drink a free tea or coffee from their shop’s self serve machine, but will be asked to bring their own reusable cup, rather than being offered one when they go through the checkout.
Waitrose says it will initially remove disposable cups in nine branches from 30 April before rolling it out across all stores in a phased programme by the autumn.
The stores in which tests will initially take place are: Banbury, Billericay, Ipswich, Newmarket, Norwich, Sudbury, Wymondham, Upminster and the Fitzroy Street, Cambridge little Waitrose. The supermarket says it has chosen these stores as they allow it to test a range of different sized stores and formats.
Waitrose recently pledged to not sell any own label food in black plastic beyond 2019.
Tor Harris, head of sustainability and responsible sourcing at Waitrose, says: “We realise this is a major change, but we believe removing all takeaway disposable cups is the right thing to do for our business and are confident the majority of customers will support the environmental benefits.
“It underlines our commitment to plastic and packaging reduction and our aim is to deliver this as quickly as possible.”
As part of today’s announcement, myWaitrose members will no longer be able to claim their free hot drink in its 180 in-store cafes; to avoid customers without a reusable cup putting increased pressure on its hospitality areas.
Instead, myWaitrose members who purchase a tea or coffee in a cafe will be offered a choice of food options to enjoy for free or with a discount. These will vary each month.
Additionally, Waitrose has invested in training 800 Food Service Partners as baristas, to improve hospitality service in its cafes.
These changes to its cafe service will also first be made from 30 April in eight of the same shops where disposable cups will be initially removed before taking effect in all branches with hospitality areas from 23 May.
Waitrose says its current cups are recyclable but the facilities to collect them are limited.
It has already moved to a cup that used 25% less material and had been trying to find a coffee cup that could be recycled in mainstream facilities.
Waitrose says it is also removing cups from its 15 Shell forecourt stores.
Accountancy firm KPMG, one of Britain’s big four, is removing single-use cups from all water coolers in its offices, following Waitrose’s move, as well as the banning of plastic straws from Waitrose, Iceland and Morrisons, according to The Times.
The accounting firm has already removed all plastic cups from the water coolers in its Manchester office, where it tested the initiative.
KPMG now plans to extend the scheme across its UK network by September, the Financial Times reported.
The firm estimates that it uses three million plastic cups for water at a cost of £60,000 a year, according to The Times.