This week’s news that we only recycle one in every 400 disposable coffee cups didn’t come as a surprise to some. Those figures have actually been around for a few years. The Guardian published the exact same story in 2014 and again in 2016. Neither vendor nor consumer took drastic action then, so why will we now?
Past Promises
Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee chain, set a seven-year goal of serving 25% of its drinks in reusable cups. Unfortunately that was back in 2008. When the deadline rolled around in 2015 the company didn’t just fail, it failed epically. Just 5% of Starbucks drinks had found their way into personal cups after a seven-year slog. You’ll find the missing 20% in a landfill somewhere.
In 2016, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, the eco-chef extraordinaire, waged his own war on waste by focusing on these non-biodegradable coffee cups. His campaign highlighted the growing problem of plastic/paper containers and his efforts supposedly caused Starbucks to offer reusable mug owners a 50p discount on each drink.
There’s one big fly in that flat white: Starbucks proudly states that it has discounted for customers with “personal tumblers” since 1985.
Talk is Cheap
So 32 years down the line and they’ve made it to 50p off and 5% usage. Excuse me if I don’t write home about it (especially as a first-class stamp costs 65p). Our newest countermeasure involves installing coffee cup bins for businessmen and bankers in the Square Mile of London, the very consumers you’d think could afford to be eco-conscious and carry a ceramic cup.
Plenty of beverage-based companies have got behind the new bins but it still seems like lip service. Costa and ‘Bucks have both previously claimed their cups were recyclable knowing full well they weren’t. It’s blatant, brazen lying and when challenged their response is always “we’re working on it”. It’s not good enough. They could invest in recyclable cups today if they chose to but once again it’s left to us to pick up after their mess.
They know these cups are an ongoing problem, so why don’t they have separate bins for them both inside and outside their stores? The coffee chains could then send the cups to the only facility in the UK that can handle the pesky plastic/card combo.
They could also promote and patronise new recycling facilities, putting our money into something more worthy than their usual self-promotion.
Twitter Try-hards
Rather than focus on this important, far-reaching problem, Starbucks has wasted time and money on campaigns to ruin first names for everyone and somehow solve racism over coffee runs. Their CEO was absolutely slaughtered on social media for his #RaceTogether crusade, where customers and baristas were encouraged to discuss racism while waiting for their caffeine kick to arrive. The idea was thankfully laughed into extinction before it ever made it to London.
The last thing we Londoners want is forced conversation. You’d think ‘Bucks might have learned something from when they tried to get us feeling festive in 2012. The company put a big screen beside the Natural History Museum ice rink to #spreadthecheer via Twitter. Stupidly Starbucks didn’t have anyone keeping an eye on what was being tweeted and ended up broadcasting “Hey #Starbucks PAY YOUR FUCKING TAXES” and similar sentiments for the entire season.
Newsflash, guys: we don’t give a shit about your seasonal social media, your forced hot topic commentary or whether you know our names. All we care about is that you sell us coffee without screwing the planet. So do us a favour: put your money where our mouths are. There are coffee cups out there (and have been for years) that are recyclable – you just have to invest in them.
So stop trying, stop “looking into it” and start doing; buy recyclable, reward re-users, donate to charity, invest in the environment and seriously, pay your goddamn taxes. Preferably £4.1bn a year.
If all that’s beyond you, leave the life stuff to us and stick to what you know: making mediocre, mega-calorie coffee for the masses who really don’t care what your Twitter handle is.
The post Starbucks: Focus On The Environment, Not The Hashtag appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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