Starbucks' new commitment to the plastic straw ban has taken the media by storm. Pledging to phase out plastic straws altogether by the year 2020, the company has released a new strawless lid in addition to eco-friendly paper straws. This movement is certainly a step in the right direction, but it doesn't come without its controversy. Disability advocates are speaking out against the ban, claiming that the lids are inaccessible for people with various handicaps.
Considering the social issues raised by their decision, Starbucks' environmental footprint is still undeniably large, even after implementing the straw ban. With that being said, you have to wonder if there are any other possible means of waste reduction that the company isn't addressing. Is there a more widely used product that they could replace that would have a bigger impact on the environment than plastic straws? What could they do to minimize their waste build-up in landfills while remaining inclusive to specific health needs? The straw-free commitment may be a great start, but there are definitely alternatives that could hold a more promising outcome for our lovely Planet Earth.
Solution #1: Increased Incentive for Reusable Cups
While Starbucks goes through about 2 billion plastic straws every year, cups prove to be an even bigger challenge with the company using an estimated 4 to 6 billion cups annually. Your personal impact may not seem as drastic, but if you're someone who can't survive your day without ordering a Starbucks latte first, you'll end up creating about 23 pounds of disposable cup waste in one year.
Luckily, you don't have to sacrifice your precious coffee to solve this issue—it's actually provided by the company itself. Using reusable cups is a simple solution to cut down on the amount of trash you send to the landfills. It even comes with a minor financial benefit—Starbucks offers a 10 cent discount if you use a tumbler instead of a standard paper or plastic cup. Many believe that this incentive needs to be substantially increased in order for it to raise consumer interest, though.
Business media brand Fast Company says in their article on Starbucks' disposal habits, "The percentage of customers choosing reusable mugs when they drink coffee inside stores could also likely increase with more effort." Think about it for a second—has a Starbucks employee ever asked you to buy one of their ceramic cups? Probably not. If the company were to bring more awareness to sustainability, their annual cup usage would likely see a significant decrease.
#SpoonTip: You can buy your own reusable cup in-store for as little as $2 (the plain design).
Solution #2: Sustainable Cup Redesign
A Starbucks paper cup is made out of paper, as suggested in the name, and paper can typically be recycled. However, to keep the cup insulated and dry, a thin layer of plastic must be tightly attached to the cup. This unfortunately also makes the cup non-recyclable. Because of this small amount of plastic, the cup can take up to 20 years to fully decompose.
Although a new product probably won't be released anytime soon, Starbucks' Research and Development team has begun trials for the design of a new bio-liner with partially plant-based materials. The coffeehouse chain has made many pushes toward a more ecological approach for when you purchase your morning coffee, but according to Fast Company, "the bigger problem is that few cities have the right infrastructure to process [the cups]."
Solution #3: Increased Access to Recycling Programs
Tony Webster on Flickr
Processing a paper cup in a recycling facility is easier said than done, as you might have just learned. As a result, an estimated 60 billion paper cups end up in American landfills annually.
There may not be any immediate action taken that can result in city recycling reform, but Starbucks' involvement in the NextGen Cup Challenge demonstrates the company's drive to increase access to recycling programs throughout the country despite the difficulties they may face. The president of Foodservice Packaging Institute, Lynn Dyer, comments on Starbucks' commitment to this challenge to increase the recyclability of their coffee cups. She says, "Starbucks is a leader in the ongoing work to make a recyclable paper cup a reality. However, this takes a great deal of time and effort. . . the truth is no cup is recyclable until it is widely accepted by communities, recycling facilities and paper mills.”
Without active change from the facilities themselves, the chances of the cups becoming easily recyclable is slim. A cup redesign would be extremely valuable to attaining Starbucks' sustainable goal, but for now, it's really up to the accessibility of recycling programs that can actually separate the plastic liner from the paper base.
Conclusion
Despite the many steps that Starbucks can take to reduce their environmental footprint, a majority of the issue boils down to how the consumers choose to lessen their own waste consumption and the improvements that can be made on recycling programs so that they are more readily available to the public. The straw ban shows that Starbucks' heart is in the right place, but as cheesy as this sounds, you have more power than you know to help keep the planet a healthy place to live.