Recently, there has been a popular movement going around on the internet to save the turtles. Especially on TikTok, a video-sharing app that is known for its memes, people have been videotaping themselves using reusable metal straws or asking for no straw at Starbucks drive-thrus. Social media influencers like Bretman Rock and Emma Chamberlain have also contributed to the “Save the Turtles” movement by advocating the reduced use of plastic straws.
This trend links back to the video released in 2015 of a sea turtle with a straw stuck up its nose. The graphic video shows the gruesome truth of pollution and has brought much awareness towards the problem. With 6 of 7 sea turtle species being listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it is fortunate such a popular drink company like Starbucks is aiming towards eliminating single-use plastic straws at its 30,000 locations around the world. Starbucks has even released a new recyclable lid for cold drinks that do not require a straw.
New recyclable, strawless cold drink lid by Starbucks
With all of the attention towards the problem with straws, however, people are forgetting that Starbucks cups have plastic too. The main issue with the cups, especially the ones made for hot drinks, is that so many are used yet so little are being recycled. Starbucks uses around 7 billion cups every year, and by looking at the way they are developed, this is detrimental to the environment.
Why are the paper cups so difficult to recycle?
The cups for Starbucks have been carefully made so that they do not leak, break, or warp, and on top of that, cheap and easily stackable. Because of all of these factors that need to be considered, engineers are having a hard time finding a more environmentally-friendly alternative. The cups are made of paper, but lined with plastic on the outside. Therefore, recycling facilities would have to separate the cups’ plastic lining from the paper, which is too costly and excessive. Because of the extra effort needed to recycle these cups, they are labelled as non-recyclable and end up at landfills, where they may degrade to microplastics (learn more about microplastics and the harm is causes here).
Fortunately, Starbucks has recognized this problem and are striving to fix it in addition to getting rid of plastic straws. According to CNN, Starbucks is aiming to double the recycled content in the cup by 2022 and is testing more than 12 greener technologies for paper cup liners, which provides us hope for a pollution-reduced future.