Activists rally outside Starbucks CEO’s Newport Beach office over ‘greenwashing’ claims
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Local environmentalists and labor activists gathered Thursday morning outside the Newport Beach offices of Starbucks chief executive Brian Niccol, calling upon the coffee giant to stop making misleading claims about recycling plastic cups, to make a commitment to reduce its use of plastic and to support its workers.
Although barricades were in place to keep the group from entering the 13th floor of the 660 Newport Center building — therefore preventing the delivery of the petition containing 14,000 signatures — the rally and accompanying news conference continued.
“Starbucks announced its cups are ‘widely recyclable’ because it wants its customers to feel good about drinking their beverages out of single-use plastic cups. I don’t know any chain that goes to the extent of Starbucks to promote its plastics as recyclable,” said event organizer Susan Keefe, Southern California director of Beyond Plastics.
“In California nearly every Starbucks cafe has a custom-labeled recycling bin with images of cups and lids, which tells customers that Starbucks has plastic recycling covered,” Keefe continued. “This is a deceptive claim and Starbucks has been made aware that its single-use plastics do not end up in recycling facilities.”
Keefe said Beyond Plastics launched an investigation into the company’s claims about the plastic cups placed inside the in-store bins. Polypropylene No.5 plastic used in cold-beverage cups is difficult and expensive to recycle, she said, and Beyond Plastics identified a few recycling factories in the U.S. with 2% capacity to recycle that type of plastic.
In one test conducted in January through March of this year, investigators placed trackers inside cups that were deposited inside the recycle bins in different Starbucks stores around the country. None reached an actual recycling facility. The second test, in July and August, also found zero cups reached a recycling facility. According to Beyond Plastics, Starbucks cups ended up in landfills, incinerators and waste-transfer stations.
“As the largest coffee chain in the world, Starbucks can and should be a leader in reducing waste and switching to reusables,” said Alex Choy from the Story of Stuff Project. “The company needs to step up to support its stores and baristas — whatever it takes to make the ‘Better Cups For All,’ reuse policy fact instead of fiction.”
A spokesperson for Starbucks did not immediately respond to phone and emailed requests for comment Thursday.
The company’s “Better Cups for All” reuse policy allows customers to bring their own reusable cups. It also states customers who will be consuming their coffee in the store should receive it in reusable ceramic cups. According to a Story of Stuff survey, 77% of the time in-store Starbucks customers were instead given their orders in disposable cups.
“Starbucks needs to do better, otherwise their ‘green’ corporate policies are actually just greenwashing,” Choy said.
Jenn Engstrom, director of the nonprofit California Public Interest Research Group, said Starbucks could avoid the plastic trash if they stopped using plastic cups altogether.
“Given the company’s size and reputation, Starbucks can be a leader in sustainability by shifting away from plastic cups in their stores,” Engstrom said. “The company should encourage customers to bring their own cup for to-go orders and make sure they are supporting all stores with the resources they need to implement corporate policy of providing mugs and glasses for dine-in customers. Bottom line: It’s time for Starbucks to step it up and ditch their single-use plastic cups.”
Downtown Disney Starbucks barista Jeremiah Pettus, a member of Starbucks United said he’s tired of seeing the company’s cups and straws littering the streets.
“Instead of tossing everything into the garbage bin, Starbucks can afford to make changes,” Pettus said. “Together we can push by collectively boycotting.”
