My Starbucks Doesn’t Recycle. Does Yours?

My Starbucks Doesn’t Recycle. Does Yours?

Yes, I enjoy Starbucks Coffee. Let’s just get that out of the way. I actually prefer a local joint called Gimmie! Coffee over them, but Gimmie! is a little out of the way for convenience sake so the ‘bucks works for me from time to time.

It doesn’t mean, of course, that I lower my green standards. I scrutinize just as much as any other joint here in Ithaca. Starbucks has been stepping up their efforts to become “more green” with various efforts over the past year. Recycled paper sleeves, pastry bags, green initiatives with Global Green USA, etc. So, they’ve got that going for them.

However, I noticed something strange today for the first time. My Starbucks does not recycle. When asked were the bin was located, the woman behind the counter said that just have regular garbage cans. Great.

This is ridiculous for several reasons. One, I live in what’s been labeled as the 2nd “Greenest City In America”, Ithaca, NY. We’re pretty proud of our sustainability efforts — including recycling. You’d think the marketing folks over at HQ would have said, “Hey, we should add some recycle bins to the Ithaca market to show we’re in line with community values.” But perhaps I’m being a little too logical there.

Second, have you ever read the sleeve on their cups?

“Starbucks is committed to reducing our environmental impact through increased use of post-consumer recycled materials. Help us help the planet.”

WTF? Um, I’d love to help — but now I’m just going to throw my coffee cup and sleeve into the garbage bin because you’re not giving me much of a choice. I carried my paper away from the store until I could find a proper place to recycle it, but 99% of the rest of the population probably would not do the same.

C’mon, Starbucks! If you’re serious about closing the loop and helping the planet, give your consumers the means to properly dispose of their paper products. Anything less is just words on paper.