Starbucks Ban on Plastic Straws: Environmental Impacts of Plastic Straws
As of September 10, 2020, coffeehouse chain Starbucks will only offer cold drinks in cups with straw lids at all its outlets in the US and Canada, phasing out plastic straws in an effort to reduce plastic waste.
In 2018, the company first announced that it would begin gradually phasing out plastic straws from all of its retail outlets by 2020. This meant designing a strawless lid, which was trialled in the US and Canada in 2019. The lightweight strawless lid has a share of approximately 9%. less plastic than the usual plastic flat lid and straw used for cold drinks.
The new strawless lid is made of polypropylene, a highly recyclable material. Therefore, unlike straws that cannot be recycled, the strawless lid meets the design guidelines of the Association of Plastic Recyclers and can be widely recycled in many markets such as the US and Canada. This lid will be used for almost all iced drinks sold in Starbucks stores, such as iced coffee, tea, espresso and the drinks in the Starbucks Refreshers range. However, mixed drinks such as Frappuccinos and drinks with whipped cream are still supplied in a regular lid and with a plastic straw, unless plastic straws are banned in the market, in which case straws made of alternative materials are sold with the drink. In addition, Starbucks will continue to stock straws in stores for customers with disabilities, but the plastic lid will no longer be available.
Starbucks first phased out plastic straws in South Korea in 2018, where it introduced strawless lids and paper straws. 2019 also saw the introduction of paper straws in the UK and across Europe. The company will continue to test more alternatives to plastic straws and plans to roll out strawless lids and other plastic straw replacement products in more markets in the coming years.
Sustainability has remained an important topic even during the pandemic. According to GlobalData’s 2020 Covid-19 Recovery Tracker Survey – Week 8*, 36% of global respondents (and 27% of US consumers) would like news about brand sustainability initiatives during the pandemic period. The percentage rises to 39% among millennials worldwide (and 40% of millennials in the US), a target group for Starbucks. Furthermore, according to the same survey, more than half of respondents worldwide believe that recyclable/reusable packaging is now more important** or even a top priority due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Therefore, environmental consciousness is still strong in people’s minds, despite the turbulent and uncertain times due to Covid-19. Therefore, initiatives like Starbucks’ could elevate the company in the eyes of many consumers. However, for some people, this step may not be enough as the lid will still be plastic even though it is highly recyclable.
“Starbucks Ditch Plastic Straws” was originally created and published by Packaging gatewaya brand owned by GlobalData.
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