Starbucks Improves Its Iconic Cold Cup

Starbucks continues to prioritize sustainability at the core of its business model, furthering its commitment to becoming a resource-positive company. Cold drinks account for 75% of the chain’s United States beverage sales, so on April 18, the company announced an improved version of its iconic cold cup.

This new cup is driven by Starbucks’s goals to reduce landfill waste and ensure all customer packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2030. The company hopes these improved cups will keep 13.5 million pounds of plastic from landfills yearly. 

The improved single-use cold cups are made of 10% to 20% less plastic, which supports the company’s commitment to cut its carbon, water, and waste footprints in half by 2030. Also, the tall, grande, and venti cups now all use the same size lids.

Per Starbucks, the new cups include 30% post-consumer recycled content, core sleeves contain 85% recycled material, and the lid has been redesigned to be strawless. Also, selected markets boast fiber-based compostable cups.

Customers can also find in-store recycling and composting bins where services are available. Adjacent to that development, Starbucks developed a Partner Waste and Recycling App, informed by partners (employees), that helps store partners know exactly what can be recycled or composted for their specific zip code.

Alongside this innovative rollout, Starbucks has also seen encouraging results since it became the first national retail coffeehouse to accept reusable cups across all channels in January. According to Starbucks, nearly 400,000 Rewards members brought in a personal cup between the time the option became available and this January when the change was made company-wide.

The stats also show that out of those members, 150,000 customers used a personal cup for the first time, and 20% of baristas used a personal cup for their shift beverage. A bring-your-own-clean personal cup option is available in all ordering channels, including drive-thru and the Starbucks app, in North America.

Some of the initiatives mentioned above are in development and expected to launch by the end of 2024.