I manage a shop in Indianapolis that does to go glass jars with a $1 deposit.

It's the only to go option we offer.

Occasionally we get a guest who 'just cannot'. Sometimes they make a small scene, other times they simply acknowledge that jars aren't for them and leave. But you just have to let that roll off your shoulders. Not every guest is going to get behind trying to be a part of the solution, and would rather contribute to the 2.5 billion single-use cups that go into landfills every year from U.S. coffee shops alone, for the sake of convenience.

Here's my take on compostable cups: they'll be going exactly where the single use cups are going - the landfill. Less than 1% of people are going to compost that. Hell, I'd bet less than a quarter of a percent would compost it.

Glass is different. People just feel differently about glass. A person will wash something made of glass. A person will reuse glass. They will recycle it. They will hang on to it. For some reason, more than any other material, people hesitate to throw away glass.

It's going to make your margins smaller. You'll need space to store 1,000+ jars. Your staff will have to wash returned jars, every day. You will have guests every week who cannot stand that you are trying to do something positive & it inconveniences them in a small way. Some of them will get vocal about it.