SEATTLE, U.S. — Yesterday, more than a dozen leading environmental organizations, including Stand.earth, announced the launch of “Starbucks: Break Free From Plastic” — a global campaign demanding that Starbucks take accountability for its contribution to the growing plastic pollution crisis.
The campaign formed ahead of Starbucks’ 2018 annual shareholder meeting happening March 21 in Seattle. The proposal asks Starbucks to address its plastic pollution problem by developing stronger efforts to move toward sustainable packaging.
Starbucks fails on sustainability pledges, says the campaign
The campaign is being launched amidst a backdrop of corporate pledges to address plastic pollution, including from McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. In 2008, Starbucks pledged to make a 100% recyclable paper cup and sell 25% of drinks in reusable cups by 2015. To date, Starbucks has failed to produce a 100% recyclable paper cup, and currently serves only 1.4% of drinks in reusable cups, campaigners say.
“Starbucks serves an astounding 4+ billion paper cups each year, most of which end up in the trash because their plastic lining makes them unrecyclable in most places. That’s a disgraceful amount of plastic pollution ending up in our local landfills. It’s time for Starbucks to start living up to its promises.” -Ross Hammond, Stand.earth
Starbucks plans massive global growth
“Starbucks has pledged to open one store every 15 hours in China in 2018. CEO Kevin Johnson continues to turn a blind eye to his company’s contribution to our global plastic pollution problem even as the coffee giant continues to open stores at an astonishing pace.” -Sondhya Gupta, SumOfUs
Starbucks cups, lids, and iconic green straws make up a visible portion of the catastrophic plastic pollution in our oceans, state the promoters of the campaign. In the marine environment, plastics break down into small indigestible particles that birds and marine animals mistake for food, resulting in illness and death.
“Each minute, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic ends up in the ocean, and by 2050, there is projected to be more plastic in the ocean than fish by weight. Starbucks needs to take immediate steps to #breakfreefromplastic before our global plastic pollution problem overwhelms our oceans and marine life.” -Von Hernandez, Break Free From Plastic
The campaign is calling on Starbucks to address its plastic pollution in 5 specific ways:
- Create a 100% recyclable paper cup without a plastic lining.
- Reduce plastic pollution by eliminating single-use plastics like straws.
- Promote reusable cups and encourage customers to change their habits.
- Recycle cups and food packaging in all stores worldwide.
- Report publicly on the type and amount of plastics used in packaging.
The campaign includes 5 Gyres, Care2, Clean Water Action, CREDO, Greenpeace USA, Plastic Pollution Coalition, Stand.earth, The Story of Stuff Project, SumOfUs, Texas Campaign for the Environment, UPSTREAM, Hannah4Change, Captain Planet Foundation, Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation, Plastik Diet Kantong, Heirs to Our Oceans, Wild at Heart Taiwan, and a variety of organizations participating under the Break Free From Plastic global movement.
