Starbucks will no longer use plastic straws at all its U.S. stores by 2020, effectively eliminating more than one billion straws from polluting the oceans and landfills.
Instead, Starbucks customers will drink their favorite brews from what's being called the Starbucks sippy cup where the plastic lid features a raised lip customers can drink from. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however.
Frappuccino drinks will still be served with dome lids but will use paper straws or straws made from compostable plastic. Coffee drinkers that prefer straws for other beverages can request the new eco-friendly, biodegradable versions.
Starbucks will begin using the new lids for all its drinks in the fall. Stores in Seattle and Vancouver, Canada will be the first to use the new lids. Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said the move to do away with plastic straws is a "significant milestone" in the company's sustainability efforts.
Some 500 million disposable plastic straws are used every day in the USA, said Eco-Cycle, a non-profit recycling organization. The United Nations estimates that the world population will reach 9.2 billion by 2050. The amount of waste produced by this massive number of people will be astronomical if people continue to discard single-use plastic at existing rates.
If this doesn't stop, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. It takes about 200 years for polypropylene plastic straws to break down under normal environmental conditions.
Most recyclers won't accept plastic straws despite their being made from polypropylene plastic, a recyclable plastic. That's because plastic straws are too lightweight to make it through mechanical recycling sorters.
Research from the United Kingdom revealed that one million birds and more than 100,000 sea mammals die each year from eating and becoming trapped in plastic waste.
