Coffee cups: Starbucks and Tim Hortons recycling ends up in garbage (CBC Marketplace)

Originally aired October 30, 2015
We love our take out coffee, but what happens to all those cups? Coffee companies like Tim Hortons and Starbucks say they recycle them. We stake out two coffee giants and find out how green those promises really are.
For more: www.cbc.ca/mark...
»»» Subscribe to CBC News to watch more videos: www.youtube.co...
Connect with CBC News Online:
For breaking news, video, audio and in-depth coverage: www.cbcnews.ca
Find CBC News on Facebook: / cbcnews
Follow CBC News on Twitter: / cbcnews
For breaking news on Twitter: / cbcalerts
Follow CBC News on Google+: plus.google.co...
Follow CBC News on Instagram: / cbcnews
Follow CBC News on Pinterest: / cbcnews
Follow CBC News on Tumblr: / cbcnews
»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»
For more than 75 years, CBC News has been the source Canadians turn to, to keep them informed about their communities, their country and their world. Through regional and national programming on multiple platforms, including CBC Television, CBC News Network, CBC Radio, CBCNews.ca, mobile and on-demand, CBC News and its internationally recognized team of award-winning journalists deliver the breaking stories, the issues, the analyses and the personalities that matter to Canadians.

[@alisafari82]

Bottom line is , this is our own doing and mistake as a customer. I am an electrician in Toronto and every day i would grab a coffee from Tim Horton's. but i realized the quality of the coffee is not good and i am wasting all this money on a cooperation that doesnt care for their customers. I went and bought a coffee maker with a grind and brew feature and one coffee thermos. i buy my own coffee beans and make my own coffee. it takes me the same time to make a coffee as it does to go to tim hortons to purchase one and at a fraction of the cost. not to mention the homemade coffee is much much tastier than their watered down crap.

[@kathyliin8438]

I agree, Tim Horton's coffee does taste like water down reused coffee grinds, and Star Bucks always taste burnt. I buy a coffee to go from McD's now, it's much better.

[@resireg]

i worked as gas attendant at petro canada, and the "recycling bin" for oil containers went straight to regular garbage. recycling is all about making customers feel good about themselves, cause store managers can't care less about recycling

[@rolfpoelman3486]

@resireg And Aldi recycling of customers batteries? Garbage! That is deserving of capital punishment in my book.

[@Ricardoao99]

My respects for CBC News investigators! Thank's for keeping us alert

[@starsweeper11]

I am surprised you guys don't mention the obvious solution: people should bring their own travel mug.

[@AndyB12]

obvious solution is stop drinking coffee

[@suspiciousm]

+surfinburdlax yup....or a giant green monster can be hired from a land far far away to recycle the cups by magic....much more realistic

[@primetime0104]

+starsweeper11 People will be asking the cashiers to wash their travel mugs before their coffees.

[@isaacpatton2154]

I like how you have a positive outlook on how to solve this problem. Your comment helps boost the popularity of this video, since it only has 11,000 views right now. I tried inviting you to this great group boycotting both Starbucks and Tim Hortons but you account seems to have only ever been used to make this comment.

[@7wiiskate]

The logos in their cups are the means of the propagandation of their products, so of course forget the idea of bring your own cup. The goal of all these transnationals is to profit and have no real intent in preservation policies that would suppose ¨unnecessary expenses¨ and when there is public awareness their PR ppl come up with programs to quiet down the concern and the result is a big lie as this program has shown again from them. I dont buy from any of those places, they are all the propagandation of a certain status. I avoid it like the plague.

[@KubesC37]

I used to work at tims and I can assure you they dont recycle. Everything ends up in the garbage can.

[@charlenecrouse9929]

Sweet Pea sweet Pea the world is not going to end! These people are showing their true colours! They don’t recycle but expect you to. This is par5 of 5he

[@jessefisher1809]

Most oxygen is produced by algae

[@patrickscaia9335]

I thought paper was one of the easier things to recycle.

[@geoffreyabubakary605]

Little has changed :( I emailed Starbucks the following message: "Hey Starbucks, with all these drinks in plastic cups you’re selling, how’re you encouraging customers to recycle them? If you’re offering recycling bins, who’s cleaning them out before they go to the recycler? Any plastic material with food residues on or in it CANNOT be recycled, so who does it?" Their response: "we are decreasing the waste associated with our business, increasing recycling and promoting reusability. Please know that each year, an estimated 600 billion paper and plastic cups are distributed globally*, and though Starbucks cups only account for an estimated 1 percent of that total, we are invested in finding a more sustainable solution." Then they go on with a default answer about how they got rid of double cupping in the 90s, and phased out straws... blah blah blah. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. When are we going to hold these billion dollar corporations responsible?! They've been built on terrible ethics and irresponsible business practices, and will never change unless we boycott them or government regulations force them to change.

[@mikewhit433]

They should sell reuseable cups and give a discount for using them.

[@bccanvas3050]

sure if they cared

[@owui7323]

Biodegradable cups.

[@LightOfWind10]

At Tims we give you a discount if you bring your own cup.

[@volundrfrey896]

Or Canada should just improve it's recycling and waste management systems.

[@rush2124u2]

They give you a few ounces more if you have a larger than normal cup for free too

[@harshbarj]

I have to say, I'm more upset at the companies reaction than the false recycling.

[@WynterKA]

I'm disappointed in Starbucks and tims. I'll take my business to a coffee shop that doesn't pretend to recycle. I'd much rather buy my coffee knowing I'm not being lied to, even if the cup ends in a landfill.

[@johnsmith-ri8tc]

Until we boycott theses company's, it will just continue.

[@breathoffreshair7795]

john smith its not the companies lmao its the cities and their recycling codes

[@blanchdubois398]

most people wont stop going and don't care, it wont put starbucks out of business, hate starbucks for bunch other reasons than this!

[@KillKushKat]

We started boycotting Starbucks!

[@ToadyToadToad]

First of all, if people are so upset about this huge issue, why don't they bring their own travel mug? I work at a certain very popular Canadian coffee chain and I certainly wouldn't mind rinsing out everyone's travel mug and doing my bit for the environment!!! If someone gets coffee every morning and goes home at night, they should rinse their own coffee mugs anyway! How lazy can you get? As for recycling, at my very busy coffee shop, we have just TWO tiny recycling bins for the muffin holders, and the rest of the recycling gets put straight into the dumpsters (which are humongous). We also have one large bin for cardboard, but when it gets full, we just throw the cardboard into the garbage dumpster. We are told/ordered to do this! I laugh and also feel sad every time I am on garbage duty and have to do this. I also laugh when I fill the "recycling" bins with clear bags, and the garbage bins with black bags. I guess this is so the customer feels better about "recycling". Really, people, just bring a damn travel mug! What is the issue??!!??

[@tidegoesin_tidegoesout]

Um which "very popular" chain do you work at? Tims has reusable cups.

[@j.h.6633]

Also, there's another YT video that says the 10-15% of plastic in the mugs means they are NOT recyclable. Coffee cups are terrible for the environment. Travel mugs are the answer.

[@chickenfryer]

Great idea with the travel mug. Doing it for a year now, with the difference that I fill it up at home! No more waiting in line. Good for the environment too. If everybody would do it this way we would not have to discuss this issue.

[@josephselkow2845]

I bet though that the people who don't tip well get their coffee mug cleaned with a toilet brush, eh? Come on, tell the truth :)

[@mysterybuyer3738]

It just would not be the same reusing an old cup. If for some reason these disposable cups got banned I would not go anymore.

[@zakaris7099]

Worked for Tim's, the recycling went out with the trash.

[@VictorHernandez-et5xk]

What bothers me the most is how these people , no mater who they are decline interviews or ask you to just leave the property. This attitude needs to stop. I haven't spent a dime at Starbucks in s year. Inconsiderate corporations need to be held responsible.

[@PrincessUndertaker]

Yeah I agree they Just being mean to Marketplace)

[@xanlatremouille283]

It's due to legality reasons in company policy. No one is allowed to provide interviews /And/ no one is allowed to record on property. They were Actually required to be removed from the Starbucks location as soon as someone saw them recording in their lobby. It is not allowed in big corporations.

[@whitneykaye]

I work at a Starbucks and I know that part of our problem is that the customers do not follow the labels on the bins, for example, I often find half eaten sandwiches in the cup recycling bin. We are not given the time to go sort through every bag and pick out food and other garbage items. I also dont think that it is likely people will actually read and follow signs for recycling in a fast food environment.. I think that a better solution would be for Starbucks to 1) offer a larger discount to customers who bring their own cup and 2) create a compostable environmentally friendly take out cup so that it will at least break down in time - same goes for their plastic garbage bags Both of those things would cost the company money, something I doubt they would be willing to do

[@aizananic]

i work in the recycle and they dont recycle the recyclables recycled products so its crazy lol

[@dagmarl4447]

Starbucks costumers may not be the brightest, other wise they could read the labels. The plastic coating on the cups makes recycling too expensive anyway.

[@topps85401]

Boom there you go, and no way to police people not complying with the bin labels

[@mery1940]

Whitney Kay I'm agree with you , that is the best solution in Canada and all the world , the environment need it .

[@NotShowingOff]

Our children will pay the debt.

[@Mintyoreos]

This was an awesome video!!! Great work.

[@sparx180]

Goes to show either coffee company are not interested in recycling. They are not concerned about the environment only $'s. The millions they make and they cannot recycle.

[@gregs7519]

Yeah, sad that they're interested in the APPEARANCE of being environmental/recycling stewards. That image sure goes over well with their $7 coffee buying customers. Too bad it's all for show.

[@exquisitemusiclover]

The time I brought my own coffee mug into Tim’s, they made he coffee in their cup then poured it into mine, completely defeating the purpose of bringing my own cup. Felt very deflated after that.

[@douglasnorthpole8542]

The problem is not whether these cups are recycled or not. Recycling is part of the problem because then people think they can continue to waste because their waste is being recycled. The problem is that people think they need to use and dispose of a coffee cup every single day! Some people use 5 cups EVERY DAY! I use 1 coffee cup all year long!

[@polecya]

This is terrible. Need to start fining all companies that push false claims of "green" initiatives on a per item basis.

[@punkyreggaeparty8786]

Also, been binging CBC Marketplace. You guys are doing amazing work. Thank you!

[@khrfx4715]

It amazes me how these two companies handled this investigation. In my book both companies get an "F" for lying to their customers. Starbucks and Tim Hortons should be condemned, not commended.

[@warburk]

Bullshit on Tim Hortons they aren't recyclable I know I worked there before

[@abrahamthebewildered1448]

They should charge $3.00 FOR A coffee, which includes a cheap re-usable cup, but if you bring one of the said re-useable cups to get filled, you get a $2.50 discount. That's my idea.

[@kdamacc]

Amazing show CBC but when they disrespect to this nature I mean Tim Hortons and Starbucks then why don't government put pressure on them to pay legal fines and more so improve their system for recycling.

[@suziesmith8576]

that's terrible that no-one could even talk to her about it !!

[@VanlilfewithDaleandBailey]

I've seen this in big corporate companies in the us. They have recycle bins along side a regular garbage bin in every cubicle. The truth is they both go into the same garbage bin when they are emptied every night. They won't pay the cleaning companies the extra cost to do it right.

[@spacecookie5730]

Why don't they make biodegradable cups?

[@nessa7094]

collect so much $, can't give simple respect

[@Owlettehoo]

I'm an American. Why do I like watching these videos so much?

[@shakal92ice]

God! You are a u.s citizen! Canadian are American too good lord!!

[@caitlincameron4473]

All of the school recycling from the ottawa district school board ends up in the trash too. I worked as a janitor for a summer and was shocked.

[@drivenhome]

In Ontario there are no lawful "recycle" laws in place for restaurants. They throw it ALL in the garbage. If the establishment offers it and implements it, it is charged through the city as an added pick up. So... raise your cup to higher prices and restaurant food if you want to see recycling implemented. Sollution: Bring your own coffee travel mug, Starbucks will even wash it out for you with scalding water. BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE

[@asophfable]

+drivenhome ooh i like this. u r very much appreciated, man

[@Syntania]

The problem is, even if you designate separate trash and recycling, you are still going to get people to toss trash in the recycling, and recycling in the trash. Recyclers won't take bags if they have trash in them, so any recycling with trash in it has to be thrown in the trash. There isn't enough manpower (and frankly, who wants to dig through trash?) to separate them properly.

[@vicp6828]

that goes on with my weekly garbage pickup at my house after i made the effort to separate all recyclable material in a separate bin.

[@eric106071]

Easy solution. Request your coffee in a ceramic mug. It's free and all you have to do is ask. If you want it to go just have them put the coffee in your own tumbler.

[@dagmarl4447]

Well, Starbucks surely don't get a single Dollar of my money. Arrogant people. People, learn to make your lousy coffee at home and save 15 dollars a day. Don't think you will become SOMEBODY with a five or six dollar coffee in your hand.

[@glossygloss472]

Did you not see how arrogant Tim Hortons was too? I'd take Starbucks over Tim Hortons any day.

[@amapparatistkwabena]

LOL, I guess you didn't watch the piece, mate. Tim Hortons is no better. Both are corporate capitalist ventures out for the bottom line. Full stop.

[@asadb1990]

Dagmar l agreed at starbucks they just pour coffee into the cup and then you have to do the rest of the work yourself. and the temp at which they hand it to you will get cold by the time you sit down to drink it.

[@NikkiVelazquez]

I expected Canadians to be nicer than this, even corporate ones.

[@jauipop]

Bring your own tumbler or KeepCup... It might be slightly more inconvenient, but it'll help the world in the long run. This goes to plastic straws too.

[@LilChelle]

Haven’t bought SB or Kr aft in yrs due to misrepresentation or either their ingredients or their policies

[@nolawest5183]

Should be a re-investigation on this sibject - now, year's later. In California beginning January this year 2019, restaurants stopped handing out straws with their drinks for the same reason... it's July & most of those same restaurants are going back to handing straws out with their drinks. Business as usual, LMBO! They gave up - probably too many complaints or people laughing in their faces... I guess convenience plays a much bigger role in today's society?!?!

[@09mpotato]

In some municipalities, both bins go to the same processing centre. The separate bins just makes it easier for the recycling centres to sort the rubbish.

[@Warcheiftan]

you failed to mention that tim hortons cups are 100% biodegradable after 5 years.

[@pattycarljackson]

Lmao dude that is 5 years. That doesn't matter when thousands of cups are being put into the trash everyday. 5 years is way too long.

[@karankaran-us9vm]

Ive learnt to make good coffee at home

[@baluverse]

I swear! I put coffee cups in Recycle cans in my house. Last time when I came home, I found a note on my door telling us that coffee cup belongs in the garbage can. The note was from the GOVERNMENT!!

[@harmoneyreilly4225]

I am from the uk and I really love your show please don't stop making them

[@longbeach225]

CBC Marketplace is awesome. I enjoy their investigations.

[@gregoryfabre7471]

Although there's a lot of PR out there saying that cups are recycled the reality is that it's a difficult material to recycle. There's no real use for it and the recycling process is difficult. Most of the time this is unfortunately what happens...it gets burned with other garbage. The same goes for plastic bottles and plastic cups...I work in recycling and all this PR about recycling these materials is a lot of hot air...literally! And what the guy at the recycling plant says is absolutely correct and unfortunately the main reason companies don't follow through with their promises...the economics...it just cost too much for them.

[@karmaorg8617]

shocking! I always prefer to use normal cups instead of paper ones... and avoid the big companies like these two.. still.. great job CBC! please boycott companies like such!

[@iChannelz88]

I’ve always brought my own thermos to Starbucks and asked them to use that instead of a paper cup. It keeps the coffee warmer too

[@NateyC214]

As someone who has worked in the coffee industry, the big problem is what goes into those "recycling" bins. There's a clear label for paper, plastic, and food waste. When you open say the plastic one you see as much food, paper, and random trash as plastic. When we have to change those garbages 3-4 times a day while also trying to serve customers there is no time to dig out the plastic and paper from inside the chaos and it's unreasonable to ask underpaid and overworked employees to do that.

[@vchin6596]

OMG, I did not know. Thank you Marketplace for this eye opener. Curious, did Tims or Starbucks got penalized for false advertisement?

[@christopherdunn317]

Ya its all perception people ! Somebody complains , the company in forms and makes you think its being done to look good, and when somebody investigates, why is this so hard to believe .

[@bladeriders]

I'm not surprised. I used to work for a grocery company that had a 'plastic bag recycle program', but all ended up in the trash bins. Simply put, companies don't want to fork out the money to recycle something if they don't have to.

[@JasmineJu]

Start charging five cents for all disposable coffee cups, the same thing was done to plastic bags and there's been a great difference.

[@sleepycatgamer]

I cannot believe how rude these company spokespersons are to journalists... It's like being in America.

[@td6910]

At 5:43 they are standing in front of a row of recycling containers saying they pulled garbage from them. Why wouldn't they be standing in front of the brown garbage bins that are obviously separately parked beside the blue ones. I don't doubt that a lot of these places need to step it up on their commitment to the environment, but could CBC also be trying to get the point across at any cost, complete honesty or not? That's what else I would like to know. ...

[@kristenlonergan350]

What people don't know is that at recycling plants, if a bag has too much of the wrong material in it (i.e plastic in a papers bag), the whole bag of recyclable stuff gets thrown. What people really need to learn is to properly separate their recyclables. Most recycling bins in large chains provide pictures

[@davidfilmer1]

The coffee shops are being deceptive, but it doesn't matter. As we saw near the end of the video, cups sent to a recycling center are separated out and sent to a landfill. Even if the coffee shops sent the cups to a recycling center they would still wind up in the landfill. The only difference is that the shops would pay more (and pass that cost to their customers).

[@daryaionesco2634]

Like a lot of people pointed out; offer discounts for people bringing in their own cups, that would make a real difference. And I'm pretty sure it wouldn't hurt their bottom line.

[@bloopsneknoz2073]

The dollar rules here as well.

[@zentet3738]

Wow. This takes away all my faith in corporations. They only care about money and nothing else.

[@daniel12345162]

No more coffee from Starbucks

[@marzan6857]

The over abundance of cups. Yes something has to be done. The fact that Canadians have to do the dirty work for big Corporations is another. I will explain. What about the cans and plastic bottles that we have to recycle? Its all been put on us as consumers. Put soft drinks back in (Returnable Glass Bottles)! Hell they taste better for one thing. And the Corporations that sell their product will have to take responsibility for recycling! Not us! If you enjoy your taxes increasing. Disregard this post.

[@aliya7067]

A good solution is for people to start bringing there own cups. There is two benefits. First) it helps with recycling and reusing and second) most of the time if you order a small and you have a big cup they don't measure it and fill the cup to the top so, you pay for a small and get more

[@helmaxmekker8201]

so McDonald's recycle their cup's but starbucks and tim hortons doesnt? good job McDonald's

[@lindaleroux2763]

I advise all Canadians to vote with your dollars that will get the attention of these corporations and more so to their shareholders the only way to make change happen well done C B C for exposing these corporations

[@Stardust_7273]

Wow. Canada is so unregulated in a lot of areas that are so closely watched in the US. I live in CT. We have a separate recycle bin and not only that, a separate truck. And they will check before they take your recycling.

[@sean8563]

The thing is... Part of the problem is the fact that a lot of customers don't always take the time to put the right stuff in the right bins. It is a health/safety risk for the employees to sort through/separate the garbage in the bags.. so they don't. If a bag is supposed to be recycled but it has more than 10% "garbage" (aka none recyclable items) in it, it automatically goes into the trash.

[@MicroKhan]

Tim Hortons used to be my favourite coffee shop. I wont be drinking Starbucks or Tim Hortons ever again even if they start recycling again. They have been decieving people. It's very dissapointing to be fooled by anyone.

[@marg4229]

I have NEVER been in a Starbucks or Tim Hortons (senior here) but know how to grind whole beans and make my own great coffee, so have always thought it the lazy way to get some coffee is to buy it with an awful container after being in a lineup. It is a daily treat for me to make my own and use special coffee cups to suit my mood. Why do these coffee places that use paper/plastic type cups not have a COMPACTOR or shredding machine so at least garbage does not take up so much room! Apparently the biodegradable option is not working well either.

[@koda200]

The thing about this is, it doesn’t take into account on what happens on a individual store level. The company may have policies in place but each individual store is going to do what they want at the end of the day.

[@aaron___6014]

What are you [the customer] doing about it? Companies like starbucks offer cheap reusable cups, and a discount for using your own mug.

[@electricorca]

Just drink water in your own bottle! Save money~

[@asadb1990]

Aaron ___ actually travel mugs at starbucks cost like $20 at least

[@FalenAnjel2]

Well... the best way is just get a mug you love and use that everytime instead of buying a new paper cup.

[@xushixushi]

@CBC We at least here in New Zealand have been taught that these "coffee cups" are NOT recyclable. Rather, they're compostable, and should be thrown in with the garbage. I'm starting to wonder if that's a whole lot of crock, and if something needs to be done to educate people on the damage being done with said cups.

[@bloc-notes6751]

I love Marketplace continue your good work !

[@Eric-tq3vn]

Trudeau for all he talks about the environment could actually do something to help this situation.

[@charlenecrouse9929]

Eric he would not even give this a glance. He might want you to think he cares about all this but he does not!

[@jamesfraser2954]

In this segment Marketplace reports that 14 of the cups they put in the recycling ended up in the trash, but do not report how many total cups they put in the recycling to begin with. Therefore, all I can conclude from this segment is that greater than 0% of the cups put into the recycling end up in the garbage, which is obvious without doing an investigation. It could be anywhere from 0.001% to 100% of cups put into the recycling bins that are ending up in the garbage, meaning the recycling programs of Starbucks and Tim Hortons could be anywhere on a scale ranging from a massive success to a pathetic failure.

[@DanielPage]

There were several flaws in this episode that you failed to address: (1) Why is recycling good? Especially for something that is more expensive to recycle? The presumption this episode makes is that when they "sit" in landfills they just don't do anything with it when many actually do. (2) Your test was flawed. You didn't use one of their cups. How can you verify that they didn't do anything between then? Maybe that tracker made it look like something that couldn't be recycled? How do you know they moved it as it wasn't one of their cups? I mean, one of my works has a recycling program for cans (one of the very few things where recycling makes sense) and people throw other stuff in those bins all the time. How do you know they didn't just see it and chuck it? (3) Couldn't the CBC be liable if your test actually gave a negative result because of something in (2) and not your conclusion and made them look bad? It sure seems like it.

[@jimkirby9959]

We live in a market economy. Anything that's not profitable shouldn't be done. That includes recycling in general, with the exception of valuable metals. Canada and the US are loaded with good sites for landfill.

[@TedBackus]

in my town, we dont separate recycling, if the refuse company uses the local sort facility. the bags with mixed trash & recycling in them , go to a facility, where the bags are dumped on a conveyer belt, & the trash is moved through the building, where human sorters, pick out either trash, or recycling. so if you looked in my trash, its all mixed together, trash & cardboard.

[@morarulucian8755]

Hold on. there are companies fighting over garbage.. while others don't know what to do with it ?

[@michealng6974]

If their evironmentism were true they should have ask thier customers to bring thier own cups.

[@bluewaters3100]

I went to Rome, Italy in 1988. If you wanted coffee it came in a glass cup and you drank it there. There were no plastic spoons or paper napkins. I wonder what it is like now.

[@acraze2u]

That's why I bring my own tumbler mug. It stays warm, you save 10 cents at Starbucks, and it is shown in studies you get more bang for your buck.

[@iliz7424]

A lot of stores don't recycle because they would have to pay someone extra to go through it. Even Whole Foods who are "soooo eco friendly", use a ton of plastic and don't recycle or compost like their bins and signs say they do.

[@Mintyoreos]

Tim Horton's and Starbucks should do what gas stations do with the reuseable containers and slurpy containers. That would be rad. Imagine limited edition ones. Then there is money to donate to recycling the cups damage that has been done. At least that is what I would do. lol

[@Jen-jq8ge]

The public needs to understand that they are mainly to blame for these recyclables being thrown away. If everyone recycles correctly then we do not have a problem. However, if one individual places a cup into the recycle with a bit of liquid left over, then all those clean recyclables end up contaminated, as we seen in this video with food and liquid soiling. If recyclables are contaminated, recycling facilities cannot market mixed paper. Things are only recyclable if someone else is willing to buy and remake them into something new. Buyers do not want mold, bugs, and critters from people recycling incorrectly. My advice, bring your own reusable cup. Problem solved.

[@DeeMonaVanilla]

wow, that is just sad. they put up an image just to make customers feel better about going to Starbucks or Tim Hortons, but they are just not willing to pay for the recycling process. I personally rarely (like once every two months) go to these places because I didn't trust their recycling program, and I am glad I didn't. yes, like many people said here on KZbin, they should have a "bring your own cup" program to reduce the amount of refuse, but they probably don't want to encourage it because using their cups is good "publicity" to see so many people walk around with their cups in their hands (AND they sell reusable mugs, so clearly they can refill your cup). And the fact that they refused to give them an interview and Starbucks even threw them out the building....Starbucks clearly got busted and realized they didn't have anything to explain what happened. if we want good environmental customer behavior, there needs to be honesty or at least some transparency to business politics. I doubt it will ever happen though 😣

[@عيونحزينة-ت7غ]

Make is a statewide law to have biodegradable coffee cups, unless that is already happening.

[@evey35]

"What are the companies doing about this?" The question is, what are YOU doing about it? Bring your own damn cup if you're "concerned". I don't agree with stalking and harassing companies, either. It would have been more telling to me if you had just said both refused to comment. Watching you try to harass someone at their job is a bit uncomfortable. Shoddy journalism. This show used to have some integrity.

[@eugene188]

+Evey Styles (Sharie Bird) You know what? They had asked for interviews with the companies who just wouldn't get back to them. It was not their first step. Would you say a legit journalist should just walk away because the company declined to comment? I'm glad they went knocking and showed that they were outright rejected. Could these big companies now have sent out somebody from the PR team? Should they not of already been working on an answer...they had 1 month!

[@evey35]

If the person from PR doesn't want to come out, they shouldn't stand there and harass the receptionist, asking her questions about what's going on. That's not cool. A media representative for a large corporation generally has to fashion their own statement about something before they are allowed to speak to the media. That's their job, and if they don't want to lose it, they do what is expected of them. I don't really consider Marketplace a legit form of journalism these days. In fact, it's a joke and I'm not even sure they take themselves seriously. What was with the "detective" music while they showed people going through the garbage? And why would they go through garbage anyway when they had a tracker on them? Because they think that's what people want to see. Perhaps the companies didn't want to answer them because they are closer to tabloid journalism rather than real reporting. The show acts as though what they report on is a huge issue when it's really a non-issue or a tiny facet of a much larger issue. I find their practices underhanded and completely infactual at times. Sorry if you don't like my opinion, but I feel there are better, less intrusive ways to go about this issue, like calmly asking them to remove the advertising around the stores that don't actually recycle their stuff, or making a complaint to consumer boards about it.

[@evey35]

btw, it's *should not have Not "should not of"

[@DeeMonaVanilla]

+Evey Styles (Sharie Bird) really ? so that is what you get from this clip? that marketplace is shady ? that they should not have waited outside the office ? I get your concern, maybe you are right, I don't know much about journalism etiquette, but I didn't think that waiting outside an office and leaving when a security gard asks you to leave was considered bad journalism. on the other hand, I must admit that I am happy they did because it did expose the things that Starbuck and Tim Hortons are doing with their so called recycle program. I never watched marketplace though (until now), so I can't speak for their other segments.

[@robertlandonijr2481]

To Evey Styles: I agree. But, it made Mike Wallace ( aka "Mike Malice" in his earlier days ) famous.

[@montreetsang8073]

Other large retailers like Macy's claim they recycle plastic bags and have a green recycle bin in every store. All docks managers I've spoken to from different stores explained to me that all the recycled bags end up in the same garbage bin. Many stores just want to be labeled as environmental friendly but are they really? It would be great if CBC Marketplace did a little investigation on it.

[@chubbytuna77]

90% of those cups end up on the ground anyways. The problem is that so many cups are left on the ground, that the people who clean up after you end up just throwing everything in a dumpster. If you want your cups recycled...put them in the propper garbage can yourself. Go to any parking lot before 7am. You'll see what i mean. Coffee cups everywhere!

[@IanPayton]

Just watch a Toronto garbage truck pick up from a public trash bin with separate recycle sections, it all goes into the same trash section of the truck.

[@Livetoeat171]

At the end, she said, "until coffee companies make good on their promise to recycle,...." It's not up to the coffee Company's! If it can't be recycled then it can't be recycled! But the coffee companies just to appease you, the consumer, put a recycling bin out knowing full well we can't recycle it. That is dishonesty.

[@BromellFilmCorp]

No company can be trusted

[@Pleasantpvp]

customers throw away cups in normal disposal by accident. We are not expected to fish recyclables for the trash cans... -Starbucks Employee

[@artemiszero2153]

After watching this video on these two coffee chains. I am appalled on there behavior, and there recycling programs no go. I think they just want to appear as if they are doing something to please the customers, but really do nothing.

[@XDsushiyummy]

ahh guess what once they pay the company to recycle their cups. your coffee is a bit more expensive.

[@bluejayjay494]

A good idea to reduce waste is have these companies charge people for a cup just like stores do for plastic bags, maybe sell travel mugs that people can re-use, wash at home

[@JoeSchmo758]

They should have a Marketplace episode about the people that leave these cups on the ground. They're everywhere!

[@Tax2Me]

Listen to the recycling owner. It is all about the proper economics. If the cups are just 100% pulp ♻️ but if it has a plastic element (LT 100 % pulp) then it cost too much to process them. Bottom line is always the key. Beyond that, proper training to ensure cups go in recycling bin and plastic go in ? bin.

[@samsonknight6888]

I ONLY GO TO STAN MIKITA DONUTS FOR EXACTLY THIS REASON!!!! They're the ONLY coffee n' donut place with NO carbon footprint!!! GO STANY M!!!!!