Starbucks rolling out strawless, sippy-style lids on iced beverages this week
The new lids will be available on most, but not all, Starbucks beverages
Starbucks has announced that company-operated locations in both the U.S. and Canada will be making moves toward a less wasteful method of beverage-to-mouth transference, and one that has long been preferred by toddlers the world over: the sippy lid.
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The coffee giant confirmed on Thursday that it will continue its efforts toward eliminating plastic straws from its stores by rolling out the new strawless lids for iced beverages this week. The plastic lids, which have long been sold with the chain’s hot beverages in paper form, will soon be the standard for cold drinks at company-owned and licensed locations that weren’t already part of the test markets.
In doing so, Starbucks hopes to achieve its goal of saving its customers from collectively using 1 billion straws annually.
The rollout is expected to be complete by the end of September.
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“Recyclable, strawless lids for customers across the U.S. and Canada is another step in our journey to reduce our environmental footprint,” said Michael Kobori, chief sustainability officer at Starbucks, in a media release issued Thursday. “As we move closer toward our 2030 target of a 50% reduction in waste sent to landfills, the long-standing history of innovation within Starbucks, partnership across the industry and changing consumer behavior remain fundamental to our purpose and our prosperity as an organization.”
The new polypropylene lids — which Starbucks touts as being recyclable in most markets — are said to use around 9% less plastic than the standard, previous straw/lid combo.
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
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SBUX | STARBUCKS CORP. | 98.42 | -0.20 | -0.20% |
Straws, meanwhile, will still be available to those customers who specifically request them. Straws will also be provided with certain beverages, including Frappuccinos, blended beverages, and drinks with whipped toppings the require domed lids, “except where prohibited by local law,” Starbucks confirmed.
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The coffee chain first committed to going straw-free in 2018, with plans to eliminate them from stores entirely in 2020.
“By nature, the straw isn’t recyclable and the lid is, so we feel this decision is more sustainable and more socially responsible,” said Chris Milne, director of packaging sourcing for Starbucks, in 2018.