The Last Plastic Straw: Starbucks Is Phasing Them Out

SEATTLE, WA — Coffee giant Starbucks is phasing out its use of plastic straws, which scientists warn are polluting oceans and choking marine life. The Seattle-based company has been under increasing pressure for years to eliminate straws and other plastics from its packaging.

Starbucks said it would phase out plastic straws at its 28,000 stores worldwide by 2020, a move the company estimates will eliminate more than 1 billion straws a year. Customers in Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, will be the first to see the new all-in-one lids with a teardrop-shaped opening about the size of a thumbprint. It is larger and less rigid than openings on other cup lids and will become the new standard on most of the chain’s cold drinks.

More than 500 million plastic straws are used — and thrown away — every day in the United States, according to published research.

Many of them end up in oceans — for example as part of the exponentially growing Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a mass of 79,000 tons of plastic debris that covers an area three times as large as France between California and Ocean.

A pair of studies recently showed that 71 percent of seabirds and 30 percent of turtles have been found with plastics in their stomachs. Ingesting plastic is deadly about half of the time, according to Chris Wilcox, who contributed to both studies.

The new lid was designed by Emily Alexander, an engineer in the company’s Global Research & Development office when she began working on prototypes, but now in a new role as senior sourcing analyst for Starbucks’ Global Sourcing department.

The new lids are being used in a small number of drinks, including Draft Nitro and Cold Foam, in more than 8,000 U.S. and Canadian stores. The only cold drink that will still get a straw is a Frappuccino, which will be served with a straw made from paper or compostable plastic manufactured from fermented plant starch or other sustainable material.

Customers who need or merely prefer a straw for cold drinks will be able to get one made from alternative materials.

Alexander’s new lid is made of plastic, but of polypropylene content that can be widely recycled.

“By nature, the straw isn’t recyclable and the lid is, so we feel this decision is more sustainable and more socially responsible,” Chris Milne, director of packaging sourcing for Starbucks, said in a news release. “Starbucks is finally drawing a line in the sand and creating a mold for other large brands to follow. We are raising the water line for what’s acceptable and inspiring our peers to follow suit.”

Nicholas Mallos, director of the Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas program, called Starbucks’ decision to phase out plastic straws “a shining example of the important role that companies can play in stemming the tide of ocean plastic.”

“With 8 million metric tons of plastic entering the ocean every year, we cannot afford to let industry sit on the sidelines,” Mallos said.

Erin Simon, director of sustainability research and development and material science at World Wildlife Fund, called Starbucks’ decision to eliminate plastic straws “forward-thinking in tackling the material waste challenge.”

Colleen Chapman, vice president of Starbucks global social impact overseeing sustainability, said the move to make the company’s single-use packaging more environmentally friendly came from customers and partners.

“This move is an answer to our own partners about what we can do to reduce the need for straws,” she said. “Not using a straw is the best thing we can do for the environment.”

Starbucks said it has invested $10 million in the NextGen Cup Challenge, which seeks to develop a fully recyclable and compostable hot cup. Late last year, the Bellingham, Washington-based activist group Stand.Earth staged a vigil outside Starbucks headquarters and built a “cup monster” from more than 1,000 cups and a “cup wall” of 8,000 cups, the number used every minute by Starbucks, the group said.

Photo via Starbucks