As part of the company’s efforts to phase out plastic straws worldwide, a recyclable, strawless lid is the new standard for iced beverages in Starbucks stores

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Over the past year, Starbucks has <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2019/greener-cups-fewer-straws-and-tracing-your-coffees-journey-via-app/">trialed</a> new lightweight, recyclable strawless lids in select markets across the U.S. and Canada. Due to the success of this test, the company is rolling out strawless lids to company-operated and licensed stores, marking a significant milestone in Starbucks effort to eliminate one billion plastic straws globally per year. Starbucks will continue to shift away from single-use packaging and plastics as part of its <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/starbucks-announces-multi-decade-aspiration-to-become-resource-positive/">resource positive commitment</a> announced in January.

“Recyclable, strawless lids for customers across the U.S. and Canada is another step in our journey to reduce our environmental footprint,” said Michael Kobori, chief sustainability officer at Starbucks. “As we move closer toward our 2030 target of a 50 percent reduction in waste sent to landfills, the long-standing history of innovation within Starbucks, partnership across the industry and changing consumer behavior remain fundamental to our purpose and our prosperity as an organization.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Starbucks designed, developed, and manufactured its strawless lid, which will now be the standard for all iced coffee, tea, espresso, and Starbucks Refreshers® beverages. The lid was modeled after the lid customers recognize from Starbucks hot drinks and has approximately nine percent less plastic than the flat lid and straw historically used for iced beverages. Unlike straws that cannot be recycled because of their size, the strawless lid made from polypropylene, meets the Association of Plastic Recyclers design guidelines for recyclability and can be recycled in many markets in the U.S. and Canada.

“We developed and trialed several prototypes to arrive at this milestone,” said Andy Corlett, director of global packaging solutions and innovations, whose team at Starbucks helped design the lid. “A recyclable, strawless lid becoming the standard for iced drinks is one small way we can give more than we take from the planet. This is a significant moment for Starbucks as we work to reduce waste and safeguard the environment.”

Corlett’s team developed variations in lid design to match the variety of beverages Starbucks offers. For example, the distinct lid for Nitro beverages, which began rolling out in 2018, has a slightly wider, tear-drop shaped opening, designed for the perfect drinking experience of Starbucks velvety-smooth Nitro Cold Brew and beverages with Cold Foam. Similarly, Frappuccino® blended beverages and other drinks with whipped cream will continue to have a domed lid made from recyclable plastic and be accompanied by a straw, except where prohibited by local law. Straws will also remain available in stores for customers upon request.

“Last year alone, volunteers with Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup removed nearly one million straws from beaches and waterways around the world, and that’s one million too many polluting our environment,” said Doug Cress, Vice President of Conservation at Ocean Conservancy. “Starbucks strawless lid is a prime example of how innovation will help us move closer to a healthy ocean free of trash, and we are committed to working with Starbucks through our International Coastal Cleanup and our Trash Free Seas Alliance to drive positive change. Our hope is that other companies follow suit, and that these innovations are met with greater investment from both the public and private sectors in recycling infrastructure and markets to keep the momentum alive.”

Starbucks continues to make progress against its <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-to-eliminate-plastic-straws-globally-by-2020/">commitment</a> to phase out plastic straws worldwide. Starbucks Korea was the company’s first market to eliminate straws through strawless lids and paper straw alternatives in 2018. In 2019, Starbucks introduced strawless lids in select markets across the U.S., Canada and China, in addition to introducing FSC (Forest Stewardship Council®) certified paper straws across the UK and Europe. Strawless lids and straws made from alternative materials will continue to be tested and rolled out to more markets in the coming year.

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Starbucks Strawless Lids Now Available Across the U.S. and Canada

The rollout of strawless lids marks a significant milestone in the company's effort to eliminate one billion plastic straws globally per year.

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Today, Starbucks announced the rollout of strawless lids across company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada, following a successful trial in select markets over the past year.&nbsp;

This rollout marks a significant milestone in Starbucks effort to eliminate one billion plastic straws globally per year, and contributes to Starbucks commitment to shift away from single-use packaging and plastics as part of its <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/starbucks-announces-multi-decade-aspiration-to-become-resource-positive/">resource positive commitment</a> announced in January.

The recyclable, lightweight strawless lid is made from polypropylene and has approximately nine percent less plastic than the flat lid and straw historically used for iced beverages. The new lid will now be the standard for all iced coffee, tea, espresso, and Starbucks Refreshers® beverages.

Straws will remain available for customers upon request.

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Starbucks announces rollout of new strawless lids throughout U.S. and Canada - Starbucks Stories

Starbucks announces rollout of new strawless lids throughout U.S. and Canada

Strawless lids are the new standard in Starbucks stores for most cold beverages.

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Starbucks announces latest progress and plans for sustainable coffee, served sustainably

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Company will trial new greener cups in several markets worldwide in the coming year, roll out new strawless lids in the U.S. and Canada, and provide customers an opportunity to digitally trace their coffee’s journey from seed to cup

SEATTLE – Sipping your hot coffee from a paper cup that you can recycle or compost in your community. Enjoying a cold coffee beverage with a recyclable, strawless lid instead of a conventional plastic straw. And checking the Starbucks mobile app to see the journey of your packaged coffee beans as they were grown, processed, traded and roasted. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Starbucks leadership will unveil progress and plans on all these fronts at the <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/coverage-of-starbucks-2019-annual-meeting-of-shareholders/">company’s annual meeting of shareholders</a>, noting that sustainable coffee, served sustainably is an area of particular passion for Starbucks and its more than 380,000 partners (employees) around the world.

“It was at our shareholders meeting one year ago that we launched multi-year initiatives around greener cups and digitally traceable coffee,” said Kevin Johnson, president and ceo of Starbucks. “Today thanks to many valuable collaborations, we’re seeing significant, tangible progress toward a greener future.”

Over the next year in several markets worldwide, the company will trial new, greener cups. Shareholders will hear the news today as they sip coffee from one of the cup technologies that will be trialed. Starbucks customers in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver and London will help test a few different cups that will be both recyclable and compostable in those municipalities’ facilities. Starbucks will choose the cup technologies from <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2019/closed-loop-partners-announces-12-winners-of-the-nextgen-cup-challenge/">NextGen Cup Challenge winners</a> announced earlier this month, working with expertise and support from the <a href="https://www.nextgenconsortium.com/">NextGen Consortium</a>.&nbsp;

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Starbucks initiated the Consortium last spring with Closed Loop Partners, and its mission includes identifying cup technologies that can be both recyclable and compostable on a global scale. In addition, the Consortium aims to leverage the scale of its powerful members and industry experts – which a year later include not only Starbucks but also another founding partner McDonald’s, along with supporting partners The Coca-Cola Company, Nestlé, Yum! Brands, Wendy’s and advisory partner the World Wildlife Fund – to work with municipalities to increase acceptance of these new paper cups in recycling and composting programs by showing their value and ability to be recovered and diverted from landfills. 

The Consortium’s work supports Starbucks many efforts to <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/environment">minimize its environmental footprint</a>, which include a goal made in 2016 to double the recycled content, recyclability and the reusability of its cups by 2022.

“It is with great intention that we move forward with highly collaborative and innovative work to bring both recyclable and compostable cups to scale around the world,” Johnson said. “We are reimagining the future for Starbucks, and for the more than 30,000 communities we serve each day, with a great sense of responsibility for a more sustainable planet.” 

“We applaud Starbucks speed in committing to test NextGen winners that were identified less than a month ago, and the innovative collaboration at work here among so many global food and beverage companies,” said Kate Daly, Executive Director of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners. “We look forward to continuing to build on this momentum, so that we can help recyclable and compostable options be the norm rather than the exception for to-go cups.”

Starbucks will roll out new lightweight, recyclable strawless lids to all stores in the United States and Canada in the next year. This is a key milestone as the company works to phase out plastic straws from its more than 30,000 stores worldwide by 2020, eliminating more than 1 billion straws a year – a goal that was <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/starbucks-announces-environmental-milestone/">announced last July.</a>

Newly redesigned, lightweight recyclable strawless lids will roll out this summer to Starbucks locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Indianapolis and Toronto, while the rest of the U.S. and Canada will receive them by early 2020. 

The new lids have 9% less plastic than the current lid and straw. Frappuccino® drinks and other blended beverages will continue to have a different, domed lid made from recyclable plastic and will be accompanied by a straw, except where local law prohibits it. Starbucks is testing alternative material straws for blended beverages and is exploring some of this month’s winning NextGen technologies that could apply to straws. (Plastic straws will continue to be available upon request for Starbucks customers who need or request them.) 

“We are pleased to see Starbucks exploring more ways to reduce its overall plastic footprint less than a year after first announcing its decision to phase out plastic straws,” said Susan Ruffo, managing director for international initiatives at Ocean Conservancy. “Redesigning products and packaging to be more sustainable is a long-term commitment, not a one-time decision, and Starbucks is clearly in for the long haul. We look forward to seeing how the company continues to do its part to fight ocean plastic and we hope others follow suit.”

“Starbucks is invested in developing solutions that seek to improve the sustainability of their products,” said Erin Simon, Director of Sustainability R&amp;D at World Wildlife Fund. “When companies begin to rethink their plastic footprint, innovation, research and measurement are the key elements needed to set them on a path toward continuous improvement.”

Starbucks will preview a feature for the Starbucks mobile app that shows its coffee beans' journey from bean to cup. Senior vice president of Global Coffee &amp; Tea Michelle Burns will unveil for shareholders a future feature for the Starbucks mobile app. The reveal will accompany an on-stage tasting of digitally traceable Starbucks Pike Place® Roast, the package of which, in the future app feature, can be scanned to see its journey &nbsp;from origin to the package.

As the audience will sip their Pike Place from one of the new greener cups the company will trial, they’ll learn that 80% of their cup’s coffee beans came from Colombia and 20% came from Brazil. They’ll see the beans are verified as 100% ethically and sustainably sourced; information about Starbucks responsible sourcing standards and open-source Farmer Support Center in Colombia; where the beans were roasted, (in Kent, Wash.); and brewing tips for a perfect cup.

Now one year into a two-year project to explore the benefits of digital traceability, Burns emphasizes Starbucks ambition of <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/knowledge-is-valuable-coffee-journey-going-digital-for-customers-farmers/">greater empowerment for coffee farmers</a> as customers better understand where their coffee comes from and who grows it. Eventually, customers will be able to use the Starbucks mobile app to trace the journey of their Starbucks packaged coffee.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Starbucks and its suppliers on engaging coffee farmers in real, two-way dialogue on this topic,” said Bambi Semroc, Vice President of Sustainable Markets and Strategy for Conservation International, which is conducting farmer interviews in Costa Rica, Rwanda and Colombia for the project. “We are innovating to help connect coffee drinkers with coffee communities, with the goal to return more value to farmers by first listening to their stories, their knowledge and their needs.”

Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE) has also been focused on the importance of access to information in coffee farming communities. Xinia Chaves, Executive Director of ICAFE said, “We’ve learned in the past year that collecting and communicating transparent information throughout the entire coffee value chain of Café de Costa Rica has an enormous impact for all the actors that take part in it.” 

Greener cups, fewer straws and tracing your coffee’s journey via app - Starbucks Stories

Greener cups, fewer straws and tracing your coffee’s journey via app

Starbucks announces latest progress and plans for sustainable coffee, served sustainably.

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Greener Cups, Fewer Straws and Tracing Your Coffee’s Journey via App

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