Hopping on a trend taking shape around the country, Starbucks announced on Monday that it plans to eliminate single-use plastic straws by 2020. Yes, that means every single straw from more than 28,000 stores. So how will you funnel that luscious caffeinated goodness into your desperate gullet now? Well, that would be by way of a new so-called “strawless lid,” which will become standard for all iced coffee, tea, and espresso beverages, according to a news release. Customers in Seattle and Vancouver will be the first to see the strawless lids implemented, starting this fall, with phased rollouts within the U.S. and Canada beginning next year. And here they are: This is good news for the environment, but Starbucks devotees with an abundance of time to discuss such matters on the Internet have chimed in, having collectively noticed a particular thing about the new lids: They look like sippy cups for adults. Looks like an adult sippy cup but really it’s the new @Starbucks straw-free iced coffee lids! They come with the nitro cold brews, but you can ask for one for any cold drink to be more eco-friendly 🌎☕️ pic.twitter.com/OyzEKDucPS — Abby Isaacs WMAR (@AbbyIsaacsNews) July 3, 2018 As a matter of fact, they actually are sippy cups for adults. And that makes sense, given the way many adults depend on their daily Starbucks buzz in much the same way that babies require milk for their mere survival. And yes, grownups can be rather spill prone too — especially until the caffeine gets coursing through the ol' veins. Photos: Starbucks<doc-sep>Sipping your next iced drink from Starbucks will soon be a drastically different experience. That's because the global coffee giant just announced that it's phasing out the use of plastic straws in all of its more than 28,000 locations around the world, and replacing them with specially engineered strawless lids that can be recycled. Joining a growing horde of brands, chains, and entire cities that have eliminated or banned plastic straws in an effort to cut down on plastic pollution in the ocean, Starbucks announced on Monday that it will be phasing them out entirely from all locations by 2020. In their place, the company is introducing a recyclable lid -- which it already uses for Draft Nitro and Cold Foam beverages -- for most cold drinks. Straws made from alternative materials like paper and compostable plastic will still be available for Frappuccinos and to anyone who requests one. The move to ditch its signature green plastic sipping instrument will reportedly eliminate more than one billion plastic straws that are used per year. It's obviously not going to solve the issue of giant garbage islands floating in the middle of the oceans, but it should certainly make a dent. “Starbucks’ decision to phase out single-use plastic straws is a shining example of the important role that companies can play in stemming the tide of ocean plastic,” said Nicholas Mallos, director of Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas program in a press release. “With eight million metric tons of plastic entering the ocean every year, we cannot afford to let industry sit on the sidelines.” The new strawless lids that will be topping most cold drinks are essentially a more sophisticated version of a traditional sippy cup lid. It features a teardrop-shaped opening spout that's roughly the size of a thumbprint, and sits at an elevated angle to prevent spillage. And while they're also plastic, the lids' polypropylene content is such that they're more easily recycled. If you're not emotionally ready to part with plastic straws, don't fret, you still have some time to prepare. The phasing out will begin starting this fall in Seattle and Vancouver, and eventually expand to other markets. And to soften the blow, Starbucks also announced on Monday that it's permanently adding two new cold beverages to its menu: a Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew (cold brew with a hint of caramel and topped with salted cream Cold Foam) and an Iced Vanilla Bean Coconutmilk Latte (vanilla bean and Coconutmilk shaken with ice with espresso poured on top).<doc-sep>Enlarge Image Starbucks With the plastic-filled Great Pacific Garbage Patch growing like a monster and everyone from Seattle to the EU looking into or outright banning single-use plastics, global coffee company Starbucks saw the future. And it is plastic-strawless. Starbucks announced on Monday it will phase out plastic straws at over 28,000 company operated and licensed shops by 2020. But you won't have to apply your lips directly to the side of a cup. Starbucks will instead offer a new strawless lid or straws made from plastic alternatives to fulfill your drinking desires. Starbucks expects the change to eliminate over a billion plastic straws each year. The strawless lid is a big part of the coffee chain's plans. It looks like a modified version of the sippy cups that are popular drinking utensils for toddlers. The lid is already available for certain cold drinks in 8,000 US Starbucks stores. A research and development team at Starbucks headed up by engineer Emily Alexander started work on the new lid in 2016. The company describes the final design as featuring "a teardrop-shaped opening about the size of a thumbprint." It took 10 weeks of experimentation and testing to arrive at that point. The new lids are still made from plastic, but from a type that is recyclable in many locations. "By nature, the straw isn't recyclable and the lid is, so we feel this decision is more sustainable and more socially responsible," said Starbucks director of packaging sourcing Chris Milne. The elimination of plastic straws is one phase of a larger sustainability plan. Starbucks is also working on developing a fully recyclable and compostable hot cup. Frappuccino fans don't have to worry about trying to suck the slushy beverage through a sippy cup hole. Starbucks will offer straws made from paper or compostable plastic made from fermented plant starch for the popular icy drinks. Rebooting the Reef: CNET dives deep into how tech can help save Australia's Great Barrier Reef. CES 2018: CNET's complete coverage of tech's biggest show.<doc-sep>
The coffee company announced the plan to eliminate the straws by 2020. Attention all iced coffee, shaken tea and other cold drink lovers -- soon those icy beverages may come in containers that don't use straws, if they come from Starbucks. The company announced Monday that it will phase out single-use plastic straws from its more than 28,000 stores worldwide by 2020, as part of it's commitment towards more sustainable solutions. "Starbucks, the largest food and beverage retailer to make such a global commitment, anticipates the move will eliminate more than one billion plastic straws per year from Starbucks stores," the company said in a statement. The company will be making "a strawless lid or alternative-material straw options available," the statement said. The new strawless lid, which will become the standard for all iced coffee, tea and espresso beverages, is already available in more than 8,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Straws made from alternative materials, including paper or compostable plastic, will also be available for Frappuccino blended beverages and for customers who prefer or need a straw. "For our partners and customers, this is a significant milestone to achieve our global aspiration of sustainable coffee, served to our customers in more sustainable ways," said Kevin Johnson, president and chief executive officer for Starbucks. The World Wildlife Fund is also working with the coffee giant on waste reduction initiatives. "Plastic straws that end up in our oceans have a devastating effect on species," said Erin Simon, director of sustainability research and development and material science at WWF, U.S. "As we partner with Starbucks in waste reduction initiatives ... we hope others will follow in their footsteps." This move comes on the heels of eco-friendly initiatives made by other companies including McDonalds and Alaska Airlines, who announced their own plans to eliminate avoidable plastic waste. The airline announced in May that single-use plastic stirrers and citrus picks would be replaced with sustainable organic versions made of white birch and bamboo, beginning this month. McDonald's made a similar announcement in June that it would scrap plastic straws from restaurant locations in the U.K. and Ireland and replace them with paper straws, starting in September. Actor and environmentalist Adrian Grenier, who is also a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Program, retweeted his support of the coffee chain’s big announcement today. Other companies and consumers are following the trend towards becoming more environmentally conscious. Stainless steel and paper straws have become hot new items for drinking cool beverages.