Starbucks expects the change to eliminate over a billion plastic straws each year.

Starbucks Helps Environment by Ditching Plastic Straws

Coffee has been part of our daily lives. One sip of coffee may it be brewed, decaf, latte and more can make your day. But there is a downside of drinking cold coffee for it requires to use of a straw, and made of plastic has brought a gigantic threat to the environment... 

Fret not because coffee drinkers around the world can soon sip their daily latte in peace, knowing it is no longer a major negative impact on the environment.

Starbucks plastic straw

And big coffee company Starbucks stepped up and announced that it will eliminate single-use plastic straws from more than 28,000 company-owned and -licensed stores by 2020. The company will replace them with compostable straws (for blended drinks) and recyclable, strawless lids.

Usage of plastic which resulted in impossible waste disposal and pollution from single-use products is a major concern. The United Nations’ Environment Program estimates as many as eight million tons of disposable plastic products end up in the oceans each year, where it ultimately harms aquatic ecosystems.

Starbucks to phase out plastic straws.

Sea animals ingest plastics floating in the ocean that sadly result in death.

To reduce its overall reliance on plastics, the coffee giant company is introducing strawless lids for the majority of its beverages — including cold coffee drinks. For its stirring capabilities, the company will use paper or compostable plastic straws.

The new lids were approved for global distribution after testing in 8,000 North American stores, as well as selected Asian countries. Starbucks’ home stores in Seattle and Vancouver will be the first to fully transition to the lids that already started the second half of 2018, followed by transitioning in Europe. Its goal is to completely remove the single-use plastic items over the next two years.

Starbucks is banning plastic straws by 2020.

“For our partners and customers, this is a significant milestone to achieve our global aspiration of sustainable coffee,” Kevin Johnson, Starbucks president, and CEO said in a statement, “served to our customers in more sustainable ways.”

The change to drinkable lids and straws made out of paper or biodegradable plastic is part of a larger goal set for the company. Starbucks also expanded their paper cup surcharge to 950 stores in the United Kingdom by the end of July 2018 to discourage their use, while offering discounts to those who bring in reusable and personal cups. In addition, the company wants to include 20 percent post-consumer recycled fiber in its cups by 2020.

Strawless Starbucks beverages.

It is a good start and hopefully, other coffee companies will follow their lead.

“Destruction is a man's will, Nevertheless Prevention is also a man's will, It’s a man's choice to choose between Destruction and Prevention.”

- Babu Rajan