On July 9, the company announced that it is banning the plastic straws and by 2020 all such material will be eliminated from all Starbucks stores. The company further said that with this initiative, they will be able to phase out almost 1 billion plastic straws every year. The ban on plastic straws is a burning issue nowadays as the material is making life difficult for marine life.
Many other governments are also planning to ban plastic straws. To eliminate plastic straws, the company is making a transition from the flat plastic lids to lip up ones which will not require a plastic straw.
However, Frappuccino drinks will still be presented with the straws but those made of paper and not plastic. And those who prefer straws for drinking coffee can request the new eco-friendly ones from the store.
There are some drinks which are already presented in strawless cups like a cold brew with cold foam. The company is all set to roll out the new lids for all the drinks this fall starting from the stores of Seattle, Canada, and Vancouver.
While commenting on this ban, Kevin Johnson, the CEO of the company said that this step is a significant milestone and shows that the company really cares about marine life and oceans. According to some reports, the coffee company has already committed to making recyclable cup having worth $10 million.
Unlike Starbucks, other companies are ditching plastic straws instead of banning those. Hyatt said on Monday said that the stores opening from September 1 will only allow single-use plastic straws to those customers who will demand them. Phasing out the plastic straws completely is the company’s priority.
A huge announcement was made by McDonald’s last month when it said from September, the company will use paper straws in Ireland and the United Kingdom. And by 2019, the transition will be completed.
McDonald’s announcement was then followed by the UK government proposal which announced to ban plastic straws all over the country. This announcement was then followed by EU announcement saying it also plans to ban some of the plastic products including plastic straws.
The United States government is also taking action on this issue as some of the local US governments are putting the ban in place. Seattle became the first major state to announce a ban on plastic straws and utensils in the United States and the announcement went into effect last week.
Seattle was then followed by California, Berkeley, and Oakland to ban the use of plastic straws. An ordinance was put by the Seattle state in 2008 which required one-time-use food items like packaging to be recycled.
Since then, Seattle Public Utilities has accomplished banning plastic food utensils one by one. According to the utilities, plastic items are not recyclable and these items will no longer b exempt from the requirements. According to a report by KIRO TV, Seattle has 5,000 food places and becomes the first major city in the United States to put a ban on plastic food items.
The stats issued by the UK government were astonishing as it stated that by eating plastic, more than 100,000 sea mammals and 1 million birds die each year.
While commenting on this issue World Wildlife Fund research & development and material science director, Erin Simon said that plastic waste that ends up in oceans put the life of marine in danger and has devasting effects on the sea species.
The director said that they hope others will follow Starbucks in this matter. According to the coffee outlet officials, Starbucks is the biggest beverage company to put a ban on plastic straws.
While commenting on Starbuck ban, director of Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas program, Nicholas Mallos said that Starbucks has set an example for other companies and showed the whole world that how everyone can contribute against plastic pollution. He further said every year eight million metric tons of plastic reached the seas and in such alarming situation industries cannot be allowed to sit on the sidelines.
