Environmental advocates are criticizing Starbucks for its claim that its plastic cups are “widely recyclable.” A recent investigation failed to identify even one cup that had actually been recycled.
Beyond Plastics, a nonprofit based in Vermont, announced findings on Monday showing that most of the single-use, plastic cold drink cups placed in recycling bins at Starbucks outlets ended up in landfills or were incinerated.
The organization tracked 69 Bluetooth-enabled devices placed in Starbucks’ recycling bins. Of the 47 that sent back data, 23 went to landfills, and 11 were incinerated.
Additionally, ten cups were last noted at waste transfer stations, which are stopovers before items reach landfills, while three cups made it to material recovery facilities for sorting, potentially for recycling. Yet, Beyond Plastics could not confirm that any of the cups were actually recycled.
Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and a former regional administrator for the US Environmental Protection Agency, expressed dismay, stating it was surprising that Starbucks hadn’t been more transparent about where the plastic ends up after consumers carefully place the cups in the recycling bins.
A spokesperson for Starbucks responded, claiming that the study’s methodology was flawed.
They argued, “Studies that utilize electronic trackers inside cups do not accurately reflect the operation of recycling systems.” The spokesperson added that such trackers are not acceptable in recycling streams and can lead to contamination, which affects the routing of the cups. Still, they maintained that Starbucks cups are designed to be recyclable and have received a “widely accepted for recycling” designation from How2Recycle.
In reaction, environmentalists have organized nine protests across New York this week, including events in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, demanding that Starbucks cease what the nonprofit calls “misleading claims.”
They are also pushing for lawmakers to support the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, which would require companies like Starbucks to minimize plastic packaging and help pay municipalities for waste management.
Starbucks had made a commitment in 2020 to ensure all customer packaging would be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by the end of the decade. It began allowing customers in the U.S. to use their own reusable cups for mobile and drive-through orders in 2024.
This past February, the company jointly announced with WM, the largest waste management service, that its cold beverage cups made from polypropylene (No. 5 plastic) are now “widely recyclable.”
Starbucks stated that “Recycling your Starbucks cold cups just got easier,” claiming that over 60% of U.S. households can now recycle the cups in their curbside bins.
However, one cup from the investigation was last detected at a waste facility in Peekskill, NY—area known for being a significant source of air pollution, as noted by Beyond Plastics.
“Starbucks made $1.8 billion in profit in North America last year,” remarked Courtney Williams, a cancer researcher and founder of the Westchester Alliance for Sustainable Solutions, who is scheduled to speak at a protest in Peekskill this Saturday. “How much of that came from polluting our environment with single-use plastics?”
Other cups that were recycled in New York City have been found in landfills stretching as far as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Alabama. The NYC Department of Sanitation reports that waste exporting costs the city nearly half a billion dollars each year.
Susan Keefe, Southern California director for Beyond Plastics, estimated that Starbucks uses about 8 million plastic cups daily, based on the company’s publicly available data.
Keefe focused on Starbucks in her investigation, citing the company’s more apparent violations, as it labels trash bins in stores with terms like “landfill,” “recycling,” and “compost” despite most items ending up in the landfill.
“They go above and beyond chains like Dunkin’ by customizing their recycling bins,” Keefe said, describing this as deceptive. She expressed, “I don’t know of any restaurant that goes to such lengths to mislead their customers.”
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has been steering a turnaround plan since taking over in September 2024, aiming to enhance customer service and create a more welcoming atmosphere, hoping it will encourage customers to linger and perhaps order more.
Starbucks has invested $1 billion in revamping stores to include comfortable seating, plants, and hardcover books. They also reintroduced Sharpies for baristas to decorate cups, revived condiment bars, and offered reusable ceramic mugs for in-store customers.
Keefe, after visiting around 50 locations, noted that sometimes just “the occasional one person” was using a reusable mug among “dozens and dozens” of patrons.
“It frustrates me because they aren’t even carrying out and funding the policy they announced a year and a half ago,” Keefe said, highlighting that many customers thought the ceramic mugs they saw were for purchase when asked if they would use them.
Beyond Plastics is calling on Starbucks to stop misrepresenting its recycling practices, to remove recycling visuals from stores, to switch from polypropylene to fiber-based cups, and to enforce their ceramic mug policy.
On a page of its website discussing recycling and waste reduction, Starbucks acknowledged that recycling is “extremely challenging.” They explained that one misplaced item in a bin can make everything in it non-recyclable, and noted that various recyclers accept different materials, preventing a universal recycling program. Also, in shopping malls, waste management is often under the control of the landlord.
