Starbucks’ Plastic Pledge: Are They Walking the Walk on Cup Sustainability?
In 2018 Starbucks made headlines: plastic straws gone by 2020 and a promise of “greener cups.” Seven years later, how’s the report card?
The pledges:
2030 goal: all cups recyclable or compostable in practice and at scale
Updated 2023 target: 50 % recycled content across cups and 100 % reusable or returnable options where possible
The reality: Starbucks still distributes roughly 4 billion single-use cups annually. The iconic clear cold cup remains 100 % virgin polypropylene in most markets. Strawless lids reduced plastic by ~150 tons a year, but that’s a rounding error against billions of cups.
Bright spots do exist:
South Korea hit 90 % reusable adoption in select stores with deposit-return borrows.
UK’s 5p latte levy and “borrow-a-cup” trials slashed single-use by 40 % in test locations.
The NextGen Cup Challenge funded 12 winners, including fully compostable fiber cups and reusable tracking tech.
So is Starbucks walking the walk? Partially. Progress is fastest where governments force it (levies, bans) or where customers demand it (South Korea’s cultural reusable norm). In the U.S., where convenience still reigns, the clear PP cup soldiers on.
You hold more power than you think.
Bring any clean reusable and get 10¢ off (25–50¢ in some countries).
Ask for “for here” ceramic or glass if you’re staying.
Vote with your wallet—stores with high reusable rates get more corporate attention.
Starbucks says customers drive change. Let’s give them the loudest signal possible.
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