- Non-Profit Beyond Plastics has published a report finding that Starbucks “widely recyclable” cold cups placed in store bins aren’t actually being recycled.
- Beyond Plastics visited stores in nine states and Washington, D.C., and placed trackers on cups discarded in stores’ recycling bins, then followed them as they left the Starbucks location.
- Recommendations from the report include that the global coffee chain better enforce its “A Better Cup for All” initiative, roll out its fiber-molded cups nationally, and stop misrepresenting cup recycling on its in-store signage.
Recently, you might have noticed signage at your local Starbucks on or near the trash bins indicating that all cups and lids placed in the bins can be recycled. In February, the global coffee chain announced that its polypropylene cups had earned a “widely recyclable” designation from How2Recycle, an organization consisting of over 330 brands and retailers that develops a standardized labeling system.
Starbucks says that over 60% of households could now recycle its cold cups curbside. The company shared in the same announcement that it had worked, in part, with WM, the largest recycler in the country, as well as How2Recycle, the NextGen Consortium, and The Recycling Partnership. According to Starbucks, WM helped develop end markets for recycled polypropylene with KW Plastics and build out recycling infrastructure.
