Starbucks promotes recycling on the 2.3 billion paper cups it uses every year, and has even received a national award for using cups that contain 10 percent recycled material.
The cups’ sleeves also carry the slogan “Help us help the planet.”
However, despite their environmentally friendly image, Starbucks cups are not recyclable in most U.S. cities. Why? Because the cups have a plastic coating designed to prevent leaking, which makes it unable to be recycled with other paper products.
The plastic cups are not accepted by most recyclers either, including Waste Management, North America's largest recycler.
According to Starbucks, a more-recyclable cup is not an option, but the cup manufacturer said the cups could be made recyclable for about double the cost.
Meanwhile, the cups could be recycled if Starbucks tracked down a recycler that was willing to take them, and arranged a recycling program with them.
Starbucks points out that they do take strides to be environmentally friendly, including offering reusable mugs for in-store customers, selling reusable travel mugs in their stores, and giving a 10-cent discount to customers who bring in their own cups.
According to a Starbucks spokeswoman, more than 17 million U.S. and Canadian customers took advantage of the 10-cent discount for bringing their own cup in 2006, which saved 674,000 pounds of paper.
The Columbus Dispatch September 17, 2007