Your next Frappuccino could come in a new cup, as Starbucks is rolling out a new design in the US this month
Starbucks announced Thursday that it will redesign plastic cups for iced drinks.
The coffee giant will roll out disposable cups next month to combat the more than 35 million kilos of plastic that its customers throw away when they have finished their ice-cold drinks.
The innovation will reduce plastic by up to 20 percent in the new cups, which will be available for the first time in the US and Canada this month, followed by thousands of stores in Europe, the Middle East and Africa next year.
The move comes as the company’s frappuccinos and other cold drinks represent 75 percent of U.S. beverage sales β meaning more of the clear cups are finding their way into landfills.
The coffee giant will roll out disposable cups next month to combat the more than 35 million kilos of plastic that its customers throw away when they have finished their ice-cold drinks.
Amelia Landers, Starbucks vice president of product innovation, said the Seattle-based company has been developing the new containers over the past four years.
“Engineers tested thousands of iterations to see how much plastic they could remove while still making the cup feel sturdy.”
βWe feel like it’s industry leading,β Landers said. “It’s the best expression of a cold plastic cup.”
The Seattle-based company recently reported that approximately six billion disposable cups and mugs are produced worldwide each year, most of which end up in landfills or thrown into the environment.
Both hot and cold drink cups contain Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that can leach into food and drinks and potentially cause health problems.
The paper cups are covered with plastic, making them not recyclable.
However, today’s plastic cups are largely made of polypropylene (PP), a type of polymer that is the most versatile and easiest to recycle.
However, it takes approximately 20 to 30 years for PP products to completely degrade.
Starbucks has not shared what other materials will be used instead of plastic.
The new cold cups have raised dots on the bottom, so that baristas – even people with impaired vision – can quickly feel with a thumb movement which size cup they are holding.
And the 12-ounce cup β that’s the “long” size in Starbucks jargon β is shorter and wider to accommodate a lid the same size as larger cups.
The move comes as the company’s frappuccinos and other cold drinks represent 75 percent of U.S. beverage sales β meaning more of the clear cups are finding their way into landfills.
The redesign also allows for the same lid used for the tall, grande and venti cups, potentially reducing the need to manufacture plastic lids.
Landers said the new cups are part of a long-term sustainability campaign at Starbucks, which introduced strawless lids in 2019.
The company also plans to roll out a reusable cup program in thousands of stores in Europe, the Middle East and Africa next year.
Under the program, customers pay a small deposit when they purchase a hot or cold drink in a specially designed cup that can be used up to 30 times.
They get the deposit back when they return the cup to a store.
Starbucks has also tested U.S. reusable cup programs in California, Arizona and Colorado.
‘Every market has its own challenges, its own requirements and customer behavior. Some are more suitable for reusable materials, others are less suitable for reusable materials,β says Landers.
‘There is no one silver bullet for a sustainable cup.’
Longer term, Starbucks has said it wants all of its packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2030.
The reduced-plastic cup making its debut is a small step toward that goal: While the cup is recyclable, it is still designed for single use, Landers said.
The Plastic Pollution Coalition, an advocacy group that aims to end global plastic waste, said Starbucks’ plastic reduction is a positive step. But the company would like to see the company further reduce drink prices for customers who bring their own cups.
βStarbucks and other food and beverage retailers must move away from single-use and instead quickly prioritize plastic-free reuse in stainless steel, glass or ceramic cups for both dine-in and takeout customers,β the group said in a statement. .
Landers said the company would continue to explore ways to make disposable cups more sustainable.
βI think we’re never going to take our foot off the gas pedal and evaluate new ways and new methods and new technologies to move forward,β she said. “We’re not done yet.”