Starbucks will phase out plastic straws by 2020

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 9 July 2018

The people have spoken, and they're sick of plastic straws.

Starbucks is moving to eradicate sustainability's enemy No. 1 by 2020, the coffee chain announced Monday, revealing that it will phase out straws in favor of sippy cup-like lids. The move comes after Starbucks' birthplace of Seattle officially banned plastic straws, and the company says this will save more than 1 billion straws from the landfill.

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The new lids are made of plastic, Starbucks' packaging director acknowledges — but unlike straws, these lids can be recycled. Hot coffee drinkers can note that Starbucks has invested $10 million in developing a recyclable and compostable cup to replace its current wax-lined version. In the meantime, the company is charging paper cup users in London a bit extra to encourage them to bring reusable tumblers.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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