Coffee giant Tim Hortons is trying to get its customers to toss their cups in the trash.

The company announced Wednesday that it's partnering with the group Clean Nova Scotia in an anti-littering campaign.

Tim Hortons cups litter Spring Garden Road in Halifax. (file photo)
Tim Hortons cups litter Spring Garden Road in Halifax. (file photo)

Tim Hortons cups make up 22 per cent of all the litter in Nova Scotia. And those cups are usually the most noticeable pieces of litter on the ground.

"They're everywhere. They're like a plague almost," laughs Allison Bailey, hired by the Downtown Halifax Business Commission to pick garbage off the streets.

Tim Hortons says it's already trying to prevent those cups from hitting the ground by providing ceramic mugs for people who stay in the stores and offering a five-cent discount to customers bringing in reusable cups.

However, only a small percentage of customers use reusable cups. So, Tim Hortons says it's talking about giving a bigger discount.

As part of the cleanup campaign, signs with anti-littering messages will be posted in stores and drive-thrus. A radio advertising campaign is also in the works.

"We have to continue to move forward with the education awareness. People just have to take responsibility for their actions," said Stephen Johnston, vice-president of Atlantic operations for Tim Hortons.

Over the years there have been calls for the province to impose a fee on disposable cups as a way to help pay for litter cleanup.

In 2003, the environment minister at the time, Ron Russell, dismissed the idea, saying it would be difficult to track every coffee or pop cup sold so the province could collect the fee.

Johnston also rejects the idea of a deposit.

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

Steve Machat, with the non-profit group Clean Nova Scotia, commends Tim Hortons for its efforts, but believes more needs to be done to prevent littering.

"We want to encourage all levels of government in the provinces and the municipalities to engage business to talk about what kind of solutions should be on the table," he said.

Those solutions, Machat says, could include redeemable cups and using materials that are more easily recyclable or compostable.

Currently, most communities in Nova Scotia cannot handle the plastic-coated cups in their recycling plants.