Starbucks to eliminate plastic straws by 2020

U.S. coffee chain Starbucks announced on Monday that it will eliminate all plastic straws for cold drinks in its 28,000 global stores within two years and replace them with recyclable straw-free coffee-cup lids, and paper-made straws or biodegradable plastic straws so as to reduce waste.

A plastic straw is seen in a Starbucks drink on July 9, 2018 in Miami, Florida. Starbucks has announced that it plans on phasing out all plastic straws from its 28,000 stores worldwide by 2020. [Photo: VCG]

The replacement will start with Starbucks locations in Seattle in the U.S. and Vancouver in Canada this fall. Starbucks' move follows the international trend of reducing waste. Seattle took the lead in banning plastic straws and utensils in the United States starting July 1 this year. The UK and Ireland are scheduled to ban the use of plastic straws and stirrers.

Consumers have been calling on Starbucks and McDonald's to ditch plastic straws and utensils. "Currently, there is no feasible non-plastic alternative," said McDonald's CEO Stephen James Easterbrook, but the company is testing the alternatives including biodegradable straws.

KFC in Singapore banned use of plastic cup-lids and straws in its 84 chain stores on June 20, 2018.