Starbucks plans to reduce more than 1 billion plastic straws globally per year…

Major US coffee chain Starbucks has announced that it will be phasing out plastic straws from every single one of its outlets worldwide by 2020. And yes, that includes right here in the UAE.

The plastic purge, which will begin later this autumn in Seattle and Vancouver and spread from there, is expected to keep the Earth’s landfills and oceans free from 1 billion of the company’s iconic green straws each year.

In replacement, customers will instead be served cold drinks fitted with special lids (they look a lot like adult-sized sippy cups) that have already been in circulation since 2016.

Unlike the straws, the lids can be recycled, and for anyone who just can’t live without a straw (shame on you!) the company will offer paper and compostable plastic straw alternatives.

There’s no word on when this eco-friendly initiative is set to roll out across the UAE but we hope it hits our shores sooner rather than later.

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