CBS News investigation finds some Starbucks cups placed in recycling bins end up in landfills

[@wbakes]

Recycling in USA is a total joke.

[@portcybertryx222]

Plastic recycling is a scam promoted by those who manufacture it in the first place 😂. Hopefully California’s lawsuit against those companies will move things forward.

[@user-jo1zj1vg4v]

Recycling is a scam pushed by the fossil fuel industry. The fossil fuel industry is pivoting to plastic as EVs look to remove gas cars. As production increases for plastics the fossil fuel industry pushes Recycling even though most plastics don’t and can’t get recycled.

[@unkatom]

In Japan, they pre-sort, sort and re-sort all their waste plastics… send it all to China (who turn it into products) and TRULY recycle as much as possible. 🧠 And we can’t even be bothered which god damned can we toss it into. 😤

[@pjschmid2251]

It’s not a joke at all. It’s a lie. It’s a myth that was started by the beverage companies 40 years ago to try and ease consumers consciences about the pollution they were creating. As long as the manufacturers of this waste can convince their consumers that it’s all gonna be OK they can continue with the very profitable venture of using plastics instead of more expensive packaging materials. And the beauty, part of it is when things don’t get recycled they blame the customer or the recycling center or the trash company rather than taking responsibility for the fact that they’ve always known this would end up in landfills.

[@speedyme200]

And other nations

[@TastySurrealBowl]

When a bin labeled “recycle” goes directly to a landfill, why aren’t there legal consequences for a corporation behind that? There’s literally no attempt to actually recycle. While it’s been widely reported that plastic recycling isn’t happening due to the complexity of the materials involved, this kind of explicit lying to customers needs to be stopped.

[@Aryshredz]

So wait , I and other should go to jail if I throw a plastic bottle in the trash or get finned 1,000$ ? . Yikes

[@beckycarlson1957]

⁠@@Aryshredzdid you read the comment? They said cooperations should face legal consequences not the average individual citizen. Yikes! By the way, recycling is a scammy lie that has been going on for many years. My trash truck takes recycling once every other week and they put it in the same truck as my garbage. I doubt the clean recycling that I put in my blue bin is still clean once they combine it with the garbage bags. Why not send a separate truck? Because it’s a scam, a big ol joke. They don’t care.

[@TastySurrealBowl]

@@AryshredzNo, the company that puts disposal bins out in their businesses for their customers to use that they label “recycle” yet have no intention of attempting to recycle ♻️ should be. They are lying to their customers.

[@paulstandaert5709]

Are you going to pay someone to sort the trash? The customers use the recycle and non recycle bins indiscriminately.

[@maggie7843]

Even if Starbucks correctly placing recyclables in the right bin, it doesn’t guaranty local waste management (trash truck) is following protocol. At my office, we separate trash from recycling. I stayed at the office late one night and saw the janitor toss both trash and recycling into the same bin. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@Dmatis-n4z]

It’s not just Starbucks, many places have a trash & recycling bin next to each other but you pull them out & they both go into the same trash bag.

[@robfetty6497]

It would be interesting to stake out the dumpsters to see if employees put recycle in the right bins.

[@xlerb2286]

I worked at a ~1000 person company that did really try to do the right thing with recycling. We had 3 bins, garbage, recycling, and documents to be shredded. Someone sent a picture to the CEO of all 3 bins being emptied into the same garbage truck by the waste management company. He was not happy, the company was paying extra for shredding and recycling services. Long story short the waste company had to pay back the extra they'd been charging and when the contract was up a different company took over the contract. I don't imagine it hurt the waste company too much, we were just one customer out of many to them. But I bet we weren't the only one paying for services we weren't getting.

[@janedmunds4218]

It's so common it's a shame.

[@richarda3659]

One of the biggest culprits here is single-use water bottles - I think there's far more of that than even Starbucks.

[@Amyel14344]

True. Go to Costco, you’ll most of their carts are filled with water bottles.

[@stevenotero2627]

Not really but you obviously believe the propaganda. The problem is that Corporate America and big business are the biggest polluters and looters on earth . My water bottles pale in comparison to the amount of pollution they create and the damage they do . 😎🎭✌️

[@crys4rmsd619]

Water bottles are recyclable, so that fixes that issue as long as they actually go to the recycling centers. That’s what I know.

[@leslielucci3182]

How much of the plastic bottle leaches into the water, contaminating it?

[@oooh19]

@@crys4rmsd619yea the company should really recycle there’s no reason for them not to. Plus single use is cleaner honestly and you can be on the go as well like if you’re traveling you’re not gonna be doing dishes

[@matthewbodell3721]

Probably better to make your own coffee at home, in your own cup. It’s not that difficult.

[@Goldenretriever-k8m]

Yup. Also though I bring my own reusable cup to buy coffee. It insulates it better.

[@yieyie4262]

And a lot cheaper to make your own coffee at home!

[@pjschmid2251]

Oh, and don’t buy Starbucks coffee to make it get good stuff 😂

[@RobertJarecki]

I work at home. On rainy days, my dog and I walk around a mall with a drive up Starbucks. There's usually from 10 to 15 cars waiting to get their orders (sometimes as many as 25). The issues I see are: 1. Those customers can't hand over their personal mugs to be used instead of a disposable cup; 2. There are from 10 to 25 vehicles, mostly ICE, sitting idling. Edit: Carbon Dioxide emissions? I wonder if these customers, who are spending $5 to $15 or more every workday (could be $1,000 to $3,000 a year) are having any difficulty doing things like saving to buy a house or for their kid's college or their retirement.

[@catsj1767]

What do you do when you are traveling and not home and want a cup of coffee?

[@spazzman90]

Hardly a Starbucks problem. This is a government problem. We need packaging laws like 20 years ago, that dictate material composition so we can deal with say 1 type of plastic and not 10. Not to mention cardboard boxes that are painted top to bottom that are largely unrecyclable.

[@ddawe31635]

Well said! I agree

[@Nirrrina]

That sounds good to me.

[@ellvtv2314]

It won't be the government's problem anymore when the new Administration guts the EPA.

[@RickPaquin]

As far as I know, Starbucks made the decision on their own to go form cardboard cups to plastic cups. So Yea, it's a Starbucks problem with a long line of other companies who did the same thing. WHY don't companies care about their products trashing our planet? And why must Govt. always step in with regulation, which then costs the taxpayer?? No, this is not a Govt. problem. Govt. should NOT have to be involved at all. The companies themselves should care about the pollution problem THEY are actually creating. So no, Starbucks does not get a free pass on this.

[@eh3477]

No, it's a consumer problem. Its easy to avoid buying plastic cups. Even "properly recycled" plastic creates tons of waste and fossil fuel pollution, which CBS should have pointed out here.

[@willcookmakeup]

We need to fix the problem of putting recycling on us as the consumer. Companies need to just use less plastic, not make us feel bad about it and give us no solutions

[@JerichoCasio]

Everyone wants the Government to intervene but why cant we just have people hold companies accountable and let them do the work? Having freedom is the ability to make choice but if we regulate every choice to the "better" option every time someone abuses it then where does it end? Starbucks is one of the biggest businesses in the world and people love to preach about environmental protection. Then they decide they care more about their coffee over the environment lol. The people have the power but we just don't trust the people enough to actually make a difference.

[@evilsharkey8954]

Buy less single use plastic

[@AngelaSealana]

Starbucks is not a necessity.

[@mychellevanschaick4321]

I am sorry but this has nothing to do with starbucks... its all about the "actual" recycle process and what can or can't be recycled... only about 10% or less of recycling get recycled the other 90% goes into landfills around the world...

[@aftertheheadlines]

Yes it does have to do with Starbucks and every coffee shop. I can’t get a plastic straw in CA, but I can get a paper straw wrapped in plastic meanwhile the coffee cups galore.

[@heatherw7496]

Starbucks is a major corporation that has the power and money to set a good example

[@RickPaquin]

Starbucks made the decision, probably at a very high level in the organization to embrace petroleum products, such as plastic cups that do not recycle. They used to use cardboard cups, which were not an issue. This has EVERYTHING to do with Starbucks and all other companies who have decided to support the petroleum industry products that are causing our pollution problem.

[@BrettVano]

@@heatherw7496 yes.

[@rustyshackelford5892]

😂 if starbucks started using paper cups we would still have an issue with recycled goods ending up at landfills ​so not its not just a starbucks issue 🤡 @aftertheheadlines

[@JYDIVISN]

Recycling is supposed to be clean, dry, and empty. I never believed Starbucks actually recycled. But my recycling in my community dumpster probably meets the same exact fate.

[@shutinalley]

No, they all end up in landfills. The recycling label is so we can all feel good about using another piece of throw away plastic.

[@allyc6261]

I’m glad someone understands this concept.

[@TomNimitz]

And to be correct, the symbol is not a "recycle" symbol. It is a "Resin identification code", intentionally designed in the 1980s by the plastics industry to look similar to a recycle symbol, so as to mislead the public.

[@ddawe31635]

Such old news. Most plastic is not recyclable!

[@c0l0jar0]

But we shouldn't normalize it and forget about it.

[@evening_streets]

I worked at Starbucks, and everything, including recycling, went into the same general waste dumpster. Sorting at stores is somewhat impossible.

[@beagoodhuman44]

So sad 😢

[@richarda3659]

This person is 100% correct. Customers are either impatient, inattentive, or uncaring, and at the end of the day there are just as many recyclables in the trash bin as there is trash in the recycle bin. We've got to come up with a better solution.

[@teamginger9134]

94% of plastic collected for recycle is rejected. The grade of modern plastic is too low to be recycled.

[@concernedrn2844]

Ban all single use plastic. Guarantee all other plastic is either recycled or converted to diesel fuel.

[@shadetails2133]

Why not switch to compostable cups? Since it's going to waste anyway?

[@15jtbball]

Landfills are sealed and are an anaerobic environment. In this setting, compostable materials don’t break down properly and emit a ton of methane. Compostable materials are great, but only if they are composted. Same deal as recycling.

[@shadetails2133]

@@15jtbball, thanks for sharing this information! I did not know this about landfills. www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-information-about-landfill-gas

[@Wildman-zh8lg]

Is expensive

[@bennetfox]

Aww It's cute that people think that recycling actually works.

[@RKingis]

Pretty much the only thing that recycling does is aluminum.

[@stevenotero2627]

Just another racket

[@pjschmid2251]

It’s not cute. It’s tragic.

[@joemaliga16]

@@RKingis corrugated boxes and glass as well

[@Wildman-zh8lg]

Recycling does work If it actually gets recycled Educate yourself

[@_thomas_xc]

Why you throwing shade at Starbucks, this is a national problem

[@pauldesigncomics2625]

They did say that in the report near the end.

[@jackstrubbe7608]

Of course it's a national problem; but starbucks is performatively gaslighting its customer base.

[@thenightporter]

Why are you watching KZbin videos when you should be doing something about that grammar of yours?

[@SandrA-hr5zk]

One thing Starbucks doesn’t promote with bring your cup is that you get 25 bonus stars on your order, plus the ten cents off. I didn’t bother too much if I had my own mug with me or not until I realized that it was how I was racking in the points.

[@bstaznkid4lyfe392]

I stop caring about recycling..It's just more work..

[@1114gg]

Destroying the planet one choice at a time.

[@richarda3659]

I think CBS did a really great job of investigative reporting here, but it's much easier to identify problems than it is to solve them. I want everyone to know that plastic cups are, in general, not particularly recyclable, and are certainly not particularly cost-effective to recycle. So regardless of whether cups are recycled or not, the net difference is fairly negligible. The far more important question is this: How do we reduce the amount of waste we produce? Think back about how drinks were served before everything was disposable. Bars and cafes would serve drinks in washable glass containers, to be consumed on -premises, with the glass being fully washable and reusable afterwards, sometimes for many years. NOTHING else is really going to make much of a difference. Our disposable, to-go society is the real culprit, and that problem is going to be quite a bit more difficult to solve.

[@Swoop4loop]

One of the biggest misunderstood concepts is "recycling". For anyone whose ever taken an environmental course in college or high school, in order for something to be truly recyclable, it must be free of any residual food or debris. If there's anything left over and you throw it away, know it will go to a landfill. Plastic is a big problem, but true recycling is alot harder than companies make it out to be, leading to recycling being more of a buzz word than anything else. Not to mention recycling was created as a marketing gimmick by big beverage to make people think they were doing good for the environment and that companies were environmentally conscious. All they did was shift the burden of "recycling" on to the consumer without taking responsibility themselves.

[@hazelgreen8219]

The once it leaves the store approach suggests the need to remove plastic cups from their menu to ensure they don’t end up in the trash.

[@crovian7]

The only thing they care about is what you think happens to the cup because it relieves you of your guilt.

[@Lollyxbunny]

I work at SB and we seriously use so much plastic. We wast so much stuff at work it’s ridiculous and they cut our hours by sales and inventory. We’re supposed to compost the espresso beans and coffee beans and we never do. They don’t give up the proper gear. On top of that, they just cut a lot of hours at my work and hiring new people. They rather you walk out vs. laid off or fired.

[@stevenotero2627]

Damn . Not surprised . Disgusting . These companies are big bullies . They know they can get away with a lot . F them

[@Larry-qw3rp]

If they lay you off then unemployment compensation is available.

[@AngelaSealana]

Thank you for speaking up.

[@captzoom1778]

There's only one dumpster behind Starbucks and if there is a recycling dumpster it's only for cardboard

[@keyplayer123]

Our local Starbucks has a divided bin but few customers pay one bit of attention, with trash in the blue recycle side and plastic in the trash side. People also may think the "paper" cups are recyclable, although their plastic coating renders them trash. In short, Starbucks' weak attempt to support recycling is useless.

[@First-p1n]

I quit recycling like a year ago... none of it matters why should I sort my garbage out and hold some of it for 2 weeks while the other stuff goes out every week it's all big mess just throw it away and be done with it

[@angelicai7456]

Recycling is a scam!

[@dancingpianofairy]

I used to work at Starbucks and people threw trash in the recycling bins and we weren't paid to or even given time to sort through it so it just all went into the trash. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@auburnjewels2]

Who still drinks that garbage???🤣

[@joemaliga16]

Couldn’t agree more. Terrible coffee.

[@Wildman-zh8lg]

You

[@squirrelnibbler19]

I thought plastic recycling is mostly a scam perpetuated by big oil and corporations. I was aware only a very small amount of clean plastic can be recycled and only once at that. They need to just convert to industrial compost options. Or people drink things at the store, and wash it.

[@eh3477]

💯💯💯

[@arlenemayer657]

Just like stores requiring you to bring your own bags, but still package food in plastic containers!

[@RobertJarecki]

And, stores that won't bag your stuff in the bags you bring because corona virus (still) so you have to buy bags

[@wafflesandkiwi]

A large corporation lying and greenwashing, how shocking. The answer is corporations and governments deciding to actually do something instead of passing the buck on to the customer.

[@joekev27]

The whole reason I don't recycle is because I know its not being done properly. Why am I gonna take the extra time to sort out my trash when its all gonna end up at the same place. If I knew recycling was done properly and they were actually recycling stuff properly id recycle everything but until then I see no point in wasting my time.

[@Tryp-j9d]

Starbucks: “MONEY. That’s ALL we care about.”

[@JPREEDY77]

If ALL plastics were melted together pp5 means very little. Make plastic concrete out of it. If it lasts so long, you're using it wrong.

[@irwinjimenez]

Wait... Starbucks does NOT handle trash or recycle. The city does. Why is Starbucks being targeted for the city's failure?

[@arloafluhr1112]

Starbucks controls who picks up their trash and recycling. It’s a business just like any other. The city doesn’t dictate who picks up a private company’s garbage no more than a private citizen.

[@ralphburnette]

@@arloafluhr1112most municipalities have contracts with sanitation companies that service a specific territory. The vast majority of US businesses and homes do not select their sanitation provider.

[@KatjeKat86]

​@@ralphburnette Interesting you say that I live in a city where we have both city recycling and garbage but you can choose to do business through a second party. And there are a number of people who do. I have no idea why they do it because I don't think it's cheaper but they do.

[@howardlop]

We have a real problem… 100% of the news investigators researching stories like this create e-waste by putting air tags directly into the trash without even using them! What a waste.

[@echo_eco_ethos]

why are they talking about “bring your own cup” like it’s new? seriously thought it was common knowledge, it’s been happening for so many years lol

[@LisaMarieFord]

I get the tracking thing to find out, BUT throwing away the resources of countless tracking devices and adding that waste to potential recycle isn’t considered adding to the issue? Because it is.

[@prberg2]

What a mess! Really need to require the companies to use better materials. If companies were using the post-consumer recycled plastic to make their cups.. it would be proper recycling. It's not that hard.. just takes some work and a spine to stick with a plan that isn't the 'easiest' option.

[@samanthapochiro]

She's bragging about a single use cup made with 20% less plastic... "It's taking 13 million pounds of plastic out of the landfills each year" 3:32 She basically inadvertently stated that the other 80%, or 52 million pounds of plastic, still ends up in landfills every year due to Starbucks cups.

[@OLIVE_ARROW1969]

They have never heard of bringing your own cup!!??!?!? THAT right there is a huge disconnect.

[@aftertheheadlines]

Starbucks doesn’t want to clean them for people who keep reusable cups in their car. Make coffee at home, save the environment.

[@paulstandaert5709]

I think there are health regulations that prevent you from bringing your own cup. Check to be sure. Even at a buffet, you aren't supposed to use the same plate twice.

[@annabbott1963]

I bring my own cup to Starbucks always. 25 extra stars and a 0.10 discount.

[@OneOfEightBillion]

People are lazy and most just don't care

[@Goldenretriever-k8m]

@@richarda3659 what are you even talking about? It is absolutely permitted! You are allowed to bring your own cup to Starbucks, it’s actually encouraged. They give you a discount.

[@ScarlettEmeraldASMR]

Don't think when you throw something into the recycling bin that it ACTUALLY gets recycled. There's TONS AND TONS of recyclables, that it can't possibly all be handled. No doubt a lot of that stuff ends up in landfills. Not a Starbucks issue. It's a too many humans too much trash issue!

[@eh3477]

It's a consumer issuel. Stop buying single use cups.

[@YTnh2n]

To put a recycling list of objects on the bin in the store is deliberately misleading. I'm sick of all the greenwashing. Have you seen the plastic propaganda ads on TV? I hope the media continues to shine a light on these lies.

[@carljcreighton]

Are the trackers recyclable?

[@dparks3784]

Make your own coffee at home and save money. Bring your lunch to work, easier to eat healthier this way.

[@HARLEYMLM1966]

Stop going to Starbucks!

[@jamespringle9821]

Im not a tree hugger but, we should go back to glass bottles. Orange juice and milk taste better. No more single use plastic water bottles. Starbucks should sell glass bottles to buy once and return with each drink

[@captzoom1778]

This is a plastic problem it has never been practical to recycle plastic

[@joemaliga16]

I clean up trash along the roadways in my neighborhood. I pick up more Starbucks cups and lids than any other ‘fast food’ trash. As many have said, bring your coffee from home. Add up the total you spend on to-go coffee in a year, and you’d be amazed. This is money that can go to a down payment on a house, or school tuition.

[@philoctetes_wordsworth]

I ignore Starbucks, 99% of the time. Emergency caffeine only, and that is almost never. I prefer Japanese teas.

[@TomNimitz]

And to be correct, the symbol stamped on these plastic containers is not a "recycle" symbol. It is a "Resin identification code", intentionally designed in the 1980s by the plastics industry to look similar to a recycle symbol, so as to mislead the public.

[@robertyoung2819]

A lot of cities... Charge taxpayers for recycling...

[@kylewagner78]

Yet they put a "non recycled" tracker device... Interesting...

[@fsshue8657]

First off, you don't even know if the Starbucks will let you use your own travel mug. Either the store doesn't allow it (they banned using your own mug during the pandemic and apparently some stores adhere to it), or the store employees look a bit annoyed when you use your own travel mug. Then it's funny when they try to figure out how much to charge you. Don't get me started on non-coffee items like lattes and frapps. Throw in online pick up orders....

[@tierrabatido]

“Recycling” is the biggest marketing scam in the US! 😂😂😂

[@DaemonPix]

This issue has near nothing to do with Starbucks. Most all recycling gets dumped in a landfill.

[@Shh007]

This isn’t a Starbucks problem it’s people problem. Like really guys? Are we really blaming Starbucks? WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE. I dislike this whole group of people idiots who thought “hmmm let’s blame others for everything” I hate people!

[@tigerphid9677]

Note to world: Most stuff you put in your recycling bin ends up in landfills.

[@nivoonairam8950]

The staff at Starbucks even tell you they don't. They don't gaf

[@soulchild2003]

Starbucks used to have real mugs to drink “for here” if you requested it

[@MH-pz8wf]

People bring your own cup, straw, utentile or food containers to carry out stores or restaurants. And these stores should all start to make it easy for people to do so.

[@captng]

This is standard across the industry..the same garbage truck that empties my grash bin loads my recycled bin the same time

[@catsj1767]

Report them. Notify the local tv stations. A new refuse company did that. They corrected the issue right away

[@JigglyPKMN]

The tracking devices are in the landfill now. : (

[@susiekaiser1]

Starbucks can control their waste management companies. They are a huge company with a lot of power. They can use that power to ensure that their recycling actually gets recycled. If there is a lack of market for recycled cups then why isn’t Starbucks the market?

[@RealGalaxyGamers]

Almost all fast food restaurants have #5 plastic cups.

[@4happythoughts]

01:55 “Some” of these airtags need to be recycled properly if you loose track of them! That’s the whole purpose of this video no - that we need to recycle? Now we have batteries lying around somewhere… and even when it arrive in recycling plants - are you saying that these electronic tags will not get wasted properly?

[@VampireGracie]

I used to be a custodian, and I can't count how many times the trash truck showed up and dumped both the trash dumpster and recycling dumpster both in the same truck.

[@kavonnoorizadeh5009]

More garbage reporting. Go after the waste carrier not the company. Do these people even know how to logically deduce even in the slightest?

[@genx-odus5678]

I was also working late night at a university and the cleaning lady just dumped all the paper recycling and other recycling all in the large garbage with the regular trash.

[@doct0rnic]

Since everyone who goes to Starbucks is obsessed with Stanley cups as well , they should offer a discount to fill up that expensive Stanley, especially cold drinks

[@roachtoasties]

As they said, you can't just pick on Starbucks. If only 1% of a particular type of plastic is being recycled, that isn't all Starbucks. Almost any coffee shop, or anywhere else, probably has the same low, and probably worse, statistics.

[@PurplDrank]

There was a video of someone at a university giving a speech on this topic. It is cheaper for companies to just dump in landfills than to actually do the recycling process. 80 percent of the things you recycle usually end up that way.

[@raulingaverage]

I am not a fan of starbucks corp, but they are correct about dist. of recycling outside locations. It's a Waste Management issue, more than businesses themselves (since forever)

[@catsj1767]

Kicking the can down the road of responsibility

[@animatorthree]

I'm not sure why you would expect Starbucks, a company known for its aggressive union busting tactics, to actually care about its customers, workers, or the environment

[@jeaninemonet3845]

Smh it’s the government who should be cracking down. Thank you for this story! This is a nationwide issue I’m sure

[@TheRealDisabledCars]

It’s a global issue…

[@roseannesolomon6398]

Starbucks is just giving customers what they want to see about recycling . Maybe Starbucks should get rid of the recycling symbol. Instead put a landfill symbol.

[@oedhelsetren]

The problem was shown in the video, garbage and recycle get mixed and most municipalities don't have a proper recycling system. It's not Starbucks fault.

[@thomask4836]

Wow! I get 100 bags of Yorkshire black tea from Amazon in a box for about $4.00. Its good stuff. I use the same mug in the microwave for 3 minutes to make the tea and then flip the tea bag into my compost. I have not been to a Starbucks in about 15 years. Before I retired, I used to carry the mug in my brief case with a ziplock bag of tea. I guess I care about the earth a little more than a Starbucks customer.

[@maggie9312]

Companies fault They should find another way to find a recycling product Everything is in plastic The milk bread etc It’s companies responsibility to find new ways to get rid of plastic

[@Ernwaldo]

Customers’ fault Don’t use plastic Use your own (non-disposable) cups

[@tamirenno5845]

As long as consumers buy plastics, companies will continue to make them and make profits on them. I haven’t bought a plastic laundry soap containers or plastic water bottles for more than 30 years, but if I’m one of the very few doing it, it will never change.

[@nanalenox932]

I have no plastic recycling options in my area. We used to have bins in our small town and many neighboring towns. They were all taken away several years ago.

[@disnycrayz5941]

This “study” assumes that no one saw that they glued a non-recyclable air tag in the bottom of a CLEAR plastic cup. If a Starbucks or recycling employee would have seen it, they would have properly removed to from the recycling stream because the metal device would have gummed up the recycling process. And I agree with the others, once the trash is properly sorted and picked up by a waste management company, it is not Starbuck’s responsibility. They cannot control if that company is following the law or dumping it at a landfill. Why didn’t these news people talk to the waste companies?

[@shawnaepich5991]

It’s sad that in 1989 I pushed my parents to start recycling at our house. Many years later……seems like nothing is going to change in the world until plastic is removed from the world’s packaging repertoire.

[@nejaziB]

15 bucks for a coffee and yall have a plastic problem is crazy.

[@dng2000]

I think what happened as described in this video is far worse than if Starbucks just provided a trash bin for everything (regardless of compost vs. recycle vs. landfill) like how it used to be years and years ago. It's about honesty vs. misleading customers.

[@Goldenretriever-k8m]

I bring a personal cup to the coffee shop and it works out great and it insulates my drink better

[@evilsharkey8954]

Before everyone gets mad at Starbucks, the main reason why recyclables end up at the landfill is because of contamination by non-recyclable waste. This includes food, paper towels and napkins, bottles with liquid still in them, diapers, cloth, the wrong types of plastic (especially plastic bags), and pretty much anything not on the acceptable list. Recycling plants that take commingled recycling use huge machines to rough sort the materials before they go to hand sorting. Some things get caught in the machines, causing them to shut the machines down and cut the contaminants out. Plastic bags are the main culprit, but cables and textiles cause serious problems, too. Tiny items like bottle caps fall right through the sorters and pile up on the ground. Literal garbage, like diapers, wood, and food waste, has to be picked out of the line by hand. The stuff that gets past the hand sorters gets baled up to ship to companies that process the materials. If the bales have too much contamination, the processors ship the waste back to the recyclers on the recycler’s dime. There is very little demand for post-consumer recycled plastic, so it takes very little contamination to render a huge supply garbage. Some recycling companies will fine business that send them garbage in their recycling streams, so those businesses just dump all their recycling and trash bins into the same dumpster except for the things they can directly control, like cardboard boxes. Customers are lazy and ignorant and throw trash in the recycling streams. If you’re throwing things into the recycling bin that are not explicitly stated to be taken by your local recycling company, you are a big part if the problem. Wishcycling doesn’t help anyone. When in doubt, throw it out.

[@eddieg6436]

Californians recycle better than most. (Oregon, and Washington are good as well). I know people in Butte, Montana and when I visited there, NO ONE recycled anything!! ……HORRIBLE place!!!

[@eh3477]

Sometimes rural areas have limited recycling options because they have a low volume and it's just too expensive. CA for example has better options because there's lots of people, and landfills are filling up, fast. The cities have more incentive to recycle....its cheaper because of volume. Best option is to use our own cups.

[@catsj1767]

Montana is MT they have to fill it somehow with something

[@eric106071]

A simple solution is to have the employees ask if you want it in a reusable mug or glass. They don't ask most of the time.

[@MrRicklynch57]

Starbucks should offer a discount if you bring your own mug. $1 less if it is any mug $2 less if it is Starbucks brand. Everyone should do this, McDonald’s, movie theaters, sports stadiums, etc. I know a theater chain in Arizona and and Southern California called Harkins sells a reusable cup starting in November for $7 every year, then every time you visit the theater you can bring that cup back through December of the next year you can fill it up for $3. We need more of that.

[@jealousofmypuddin]

There's a reason they call it "wish-cycling". Ultimately, for as much money as they make, they need to use biodegradable materials for all their cups. The state of waste management as it is, the fact most markets won't buy our plastic, and microplastics are contributing to environmental damage, are all reasons to ditch plastic in this regard.

[@taniasosiak2134]

That's why I no longer buy coffee from them. I used to go there every day.

[@eddiebellamy7605]

It’s not Starbucks fault; it’s the fault of the company who picks up the trash/recycling. Same with my local trash/recycling. One company will come and pick up the trash, then they come back around and get the recycling bin. I would not be surprised if they end up at the same place

[@laurabenavides5444]

So Culver's used to try to recycle, but the problem is that the plastics and/or the paper cups or containers need to be clean and dry in order to be able to recycle them. So the reason why these "recyclable" cups or containers end up in the landfill is because they are not clean and dry. At least, this is what the manager at Culver's told me. Which makes sense because here in Michigan, we're told that anything we put in our the recycle bin needs to be clean and dry.

[@hdanna823]

This is the plastic industry in general. Nothing is recycled as advertised

[@Sidicas]

There is a reason why countries that really do recycling like Japan have 6 different recycling bins for each type of material. Aint nobody getting paid to separate your recyclable plastic from the combustibles

[@marcm4268]

Refilling a used cup/your own home provided cup in Michigan is against health code…..(I’m pretty sure).