Starbucks to Eliminate Plastic Straws

Connecticut Starbucks customers might not be the first, but eventually they will be without the traditional plastic straws for their coffees and other beverages.

Starbucks on Monday announced it will eliminate single-use plastic straws from its more than 28,000 company operated and licensed stores by introducing strawless lids or "alternative-material straw options" around the world.

Starbucks officials said the move will eliminate more than 1 billion plastic straws per year from Starbucks stores.

Starbucks has designed, developed and manufactured a strawless lid, which will become the standard for all iced coffee, tea and espresso beverages, officials said in the announcement. The lid is currently being tested in more than 8,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada for select beverages.

The lid is also being piloted for Nitro beverages in additional markets including China, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In addition, Starbucks will begin offering straws made from alternative materials, including paper or "compostable plastic" for Frappuccino blended beverages and for those who request a straw or or need a straw, officials said.

“For our partners and customers, this is a significant milestone to achieve our global aspiration of sustainable coffee, served to our customers in more sustainable ways,” said Kevin Johnson, president and chief executive officer for Starbucks.

Customers in Seattle and Vancouver will be the first to experience the full-scale strawless lids implementation starting this fall, with phased rollouts within the U.S. and Canada to follow in FY19.

A global rollout of the strawless lid will follow, officials said.

“Starbucks goal to eliminate plastic straws by 2020 from their stores globally represents the company’s forward thinking in tackling the material waste challenge in totality,” said Erin Simon, director of sustainability research & development and material science at World Wildlife Fund, U.S. “Plastic straws that end up in our oceans have a devastating effect on species. As we partner with Starbucks in waste reduction initiatives such as Next Gen Consortium Cup Challenge and WWF’s Cascading Materials Vision, we hope others will follow in their footsteps.”

Photo Credit: Starbucks

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