Strawless ‘sippy cups’ are the new norm for Starbucks iced drinks in the US and Canada

• Starbucks is rolling out recyclable strawless cups for iced drinks across the US and Canada.
• The new flat lids contain 9% less plastic than the coffee chain’s previous lid-and-straw combo. It has been compared to “sippy cups” used by kids.
• Starbucks first announced plans for strawless cups in 2018, when it pledged to stop using single-use plastic straws globally by 2020.
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Starbucks is making strawless “sippy cups” the norm for its iced drinks across the US and Canada to cut down on plastic waste.

The cups, styled after the ones Starbucks uses for its hot drinks, will be the default for most cold drinks, but customers will still be able to get straws on request.

Starbucks has tested the new cups across US, Canada, and China over the past year, but is now officially rolling them out.

The new cups have been widely compared to the sippy cups used by young children.

The new lids are both strawless and recyclable. They are made from polypropylene, a type of plastic widely recyclable across the US and Canada. Straws cannot be recycled because of their size.

The new cups also contain 9% less plastic than the previous flat lid and straw.

Both company-operated and licensed stores will use the new cups for iced coffee, tea, espresso, and Refreshers.

The coffee chain will continue to serve iced drinks with whipped cream, such as frappuccinos, in cups with domed lids and a plastic straw.

Starbucks first announced plans for the strawless cups in 2018, when it said it would stop using single-use plastic straws globally by 2020. The company also plans to halve the amount of waste it sends to landfill by 2030.

Starbucks first got rid of plastic straws in Korea in 2018, where it introduced strawless lids and paper straws. These paper straws were introduced across the UK and Europe in 2019.

The company said it will continue testing more plastic straw alternatives over the next year, and hopes to roll out both these and the strawless lids in more countries.