- Starbucks on Monday announced plans to eliminate single-use plastic straws globally by 2020.
- The chain is rolling out more strawless lids, which are already used for certain drinks, and developing new plastic-free straws.
- Cold beverages now account for more than half of Starbucks' beverage sales, the company says.
Starbucks is making a massive effort to eliminate single-use plastic straws.
On Monday, the coffee chain announced plans to stop using single-use plastic straws globally by 2020. The change will eliminate more than 1 billion plastic straws a year, according to the company.
Starbucks has a two-pronged plan to eliminate plastic straws. First, the chain plans to introduce recyclable strawless lids, which are already used in some stores for particular beverages, such as some drinks that come with a cold foam topping.
Second, Starbucks plans to roll out straws made from materials other than plastic. These straws will be available for drinks such as the Frappuccino that are intended to be consumed via straw and will be available on request.
Starbucks will roll out the initiatives to eliminate straws in phases, a company representative told Business Insider. The changes will start in Seattle and Vancouver this fall.
Cold beverages are making up an increasing percentage of Starbucks' sales. The coffee giant says cold drinks now make up more than half of its beverage sales, compared with 37% five years ago.
Starbucks is also adding two new cold drinks to the permanent menu on Tuesday: the Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew — which features a strawless lid — and the Ice Vanilla Bean Coconutmilk Latte.
While cold beverages are increasingly crucial to Starbucks' business, the company has struggled with sales of the once dominant Frappuccinos in recent years. In June, the company reported that sales of the sweet, icy beverage were down 3% from last year.
SEE ALSO: Starbucks quietly raised its coffee prices