Starbucks Officially Ditches Plastic Straws

For Starbucks, the introduction of Cold Foam in 2018 necessitated a reengineering of their coffee cups.Thus, the strawless lid—a sort of sippy cup for adults—made its debut along with the fluffy drink topping.The new lids were also a sign of changing times for many quick-service restaurants reliant on disposable plastic straws.And now today, Starbucks announced that it has fully phased out straws and flat lids.Strawless lids are now the new standard for serving cold drinks at all company stores across the U.S. and Canada.Starbucks says the polypropylene sipping lids constitute 9% less plastic than the straw-and-lid combination.Straws will still be available, however, in all stores for customers who require them.Whether the larger opening and lack of a spill-proof central straw hole will become an issue remains to be seen