ALBANY, N.Y. \u2014 From Buffalo to Manhattan, demonstrators gathered at nine different New York coffeehouses on Sunday as part of a national week of action targeting Starbucks over its environmental impact. Protesters are raising concerns about the coffee giant’s single-use polypropylene plastic cups, which are labeled as recyclable but are reporting these products frequently end up in waste streams.<\/p>\n
“We see corporations like Starbucks that are using recycling, claiming that recycling boosts their image, when in reality just sending those plastic cups to the landfills and incinerators, just like everything else,” city of Albany chief auditor Sam Fein said. \u201cWho can reduce the amount of plastic in the amount of packaging that we’re using. And that makes a real impact. That makes a real fiscal impact on cities like Albany. [The] city of Albany has a landfill that we’ve had for years. It’s set to close in 2028. And when that landfill closes, we’re going to have to spend millions of dollars to build a transfer station. And then every year, we’re going to have to spend a lot of money to ship that trash out wherever, whether it’s to a landfill or incinerator; of course, then that trash will continue to have an environmental impact. So passing the packaging, the Packaging and Plastic Reduction Act not only helps the environment reduces our waste, but it also helps cities like Albany, cities throughout the municipalities throughout the state that do spend a lot of money to dispose of our trash.\u201d<\/p>\n
The protests follow an extensive investigation conducted by the environmental advocacy group Beyond Plastics. Over an eight-month period, the group placed 69 Bluetooth trackers inside single-use Starbucks cups and dropped them into designated recycling bins at stores across the country. Out of 47 tracked cups, not a single one was confirmed to have reached a recycling facility.<\/p>\n
Judith Enck, president and founder of Beyond Plastics, outlined key demands for the company following the report’s release.<\/p>\n
“We have a specific request of Starbucks: first, Starbucks stop lying about plastics recycling; second, shift from plastic cups to paper cups; and also honor your existing policy that says if you are keeping your drink inside the store, that you’ll be served in a reusable ceramic mug or a glass,” Enck said. \u201cOne of the cups went from New York City to the Westchester County Garbage Incinerator on the Hudson River in Peekskill. Another cup went all the way to Alabama to a landfill. Some went to landfills in the Midwest from New York City. So we’re really concerned that Starbucks is lying to its customers. So we are involved in 22 demonstrations at Starbucks in 11 states around the country this weekend and next.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advocates are leveraging the report\u2019s findings to lobby for state-level policy reform, specifically pushing for the passage of the New York State Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (PRRIA). The proposed legislation would mandate plastic waste reduction from major corporations.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo much trash is produced in New York that many of our landfills are nearing capacity, we’re overflowing with garbage, and the amount of trash that piles up and rots in our landfills accounts for 12% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions,\u201d New York Public Interest Research Group policy coordinator Christopher Bottini said. \u201cWe know we have a problem. And the state knows we have a problem, too. The DEC’s own solid waste management plan, in fact, recommends that New York develop a circular economy that reduces the amount of waste, recycles as much as possible and reuses products.\u201d<\/p>\n
Environmental groups hope the data creates urgency among state lawmakers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the solutions; we can’t simply leave it up to the polluters themselves to recycle or reduce their packaging on their own,\u201d Bottini said. \u201cSo let this report serve as a double shot of espresso to the legislature to get them moving quickly on passing PRRIA and the bottle bill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starbucks says its cups carry an official widely recyclable designation from \u2018How2Recycle\u2019 with curbside access expanding to over 60% of United States\u2019 households, adding two million families in just four months through industry partnerships with WM (Waste Management).\u2019 The coffee giant also pushed back on the study\u2019s tracking, stating \u2013 \u201cWe are focused on what\u2019s within our control: improving access to recycling, investing in innovation to strengthen recovery systems, and advancing reusable and alternative packaging solutions to reduce waste. Additionally, at our coffeehouses throughout the U.S. and Canada, customers may order a beverage in mugs or glassware, or bring a clean personal cup. We also take issue with the methodology used in the study referenced. Studies that place electronic trackers inside cups do not reflect how recycling systems operate in practice. These materials, like Bluetooth-enabled trackers, are not accepted in recycling streams and can introduce contamination, which may change where cups are routed.”<\/p>\n