Starbucks Tests Compostable Cup in Several Major Cities

SEATTLE (Waste 360): Starbucks just announced it is testing a compostable cup in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Vancouver and London.

The new cup looks like Starbucks’ current paper cup, but instead of a plastic liner inside, the compostable option has a biodegradable liner that serves as a barrier to make sure liquid doesn’t leak out.

Last summer, Starbucks joined on as the founding member of the NextGen Cup Challenge, convened by Closed Loop Partners, to develop a global recyclable and/or compostable cup solution. Many of the largest players in the food and beverage industry united within the NextGen Consortium. Starbucks and McDonald’s were early investors and founding partners of the NextGen Consortium, with The Coca-Cola Company, Yum! Brands, Nestlé and Wendy’s joining as supporting partners.

After years of looking for greener alternatives to its paper cup — which is lined with plastic — Starbucks is testing out something new in San Francisco.

The company announced on Wednesday that it is testing out a compostable cup in San Francisco and four other locations — New York, Seattle, Vancouver and London. Starbucks showed one of the cups being tested during its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday.

The new cup looks just like Starbucks’ current paper cup. The difference is inside, where instead of a plastic liner, a biodegradable liner serves as a barrier to make sure liquid doesn’t leak out. That liner, developed by a Thailand-based company, makes the cup compostable in commercial composting facilities, which are rare.

Courtesy: https://waste360.com