Volume 14, Issue 2  •  Spring 2006

What Does Coffee Have to do with Recycling?

in the United States. The initiative put forth by the company to participate in recycling, reuse, waste reduction, and composting, including a separate environmental mission statement, is very recognizable. The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) announced Starbucks Coffee Company as the winner of the Eighth Annual “Recycling Works” Recognition Award in October 2005 and presented the company with the award at a gala presentation in Washington D.C. this past January.

Starbucks has made a number of environmental efforts to reduce or recycle materials. According to its website, 26.1% of the paper fiber Starbucks used for its products was recycled material in 2003. Already using recycled paper in its cardboard cup sleeves, napkins, and cardboard carriers, the company recently incorporated paper cups made from 10% recycled materials into its supply list for the first time, despite the higher cost. Even with this small percentage of recycled material in the cup, Starbucks hopes it will save five million pounds of tree fiber yearly. In 2004, reducing the size of paper napkins and the thickness of plastic garbage bags allowed Starbucks to prevent 1.8 million pounds of waste. Starbucks CEO Jim Donald stated, “We will continue to explore ways to include recycled content in all Starbucks branded paper goods in our stores.”

According to the Starbucks environmental mission statement, making every effort to buy, sell, and use environmentally friendly products is extremely important to the company. One way the company reduces its waste is by encouraging the use of reusable coffee mugs, instead of disposable cups, as much as possible. Everyone who uses one of the reusable mugs receives a 10-cent discount. In 2003, customers used commuter mugs more than 13.5 million times, keeping an estimated 586,800 pounds of paper from landfills.

Reuse and recycling are also highly promoted by the Starbucks Coffee Company. More and more, Starbucks is initiating recycling programs at its stores. Currently, 61% of Starbucks’ more than 1,500 stores have a recycling program. Burlap bags, used to transport unroasted coffee from outside countries to Starbucks, are all reused. In 2003, more than 1.37 million pounds of Starbucks burlap bags were reused or recycled in the agricultural, furniture, and carpet pad manufacturing industries.

In addition to recycling and waste prevention in the stores, Starbucks also sponsors and holds company events in conjunction with promoting environmental friendliness. In March of 2005, Starbucks held a Brewer Exchange Day for consumers to trade in their old coffee makers, no matter what type or brand it is, and receive a gift card that could be used towards a new Starbucks home espresso machine, coffee maker, or other Starbucks merchandise. All of the collected coffee makers were accepted by Recycle America Alliance, where the majority of the materials were recycled.

Furthermore, composting and fertilization provides an outlet for reuse in Starbucks stores. Since coffee grounds make up the greater part of residuals from Starbucks locations, the company implemented the Grounds for Your Garden program to support the use of grounds as a fertilizer. Coffee grounds are rich in nutrients and work well for fertilizing soil and gardens. This year-round program offers customers and parks around the community store bags of coffee grounds for composting at no cost.

The Starbucks’ environmental mission statement commits the company to “instilling environmental responsibility as a corporate value.” Starbucks appears to be establishing an effective waste prevention and recycling program for its stores and gaining recognition for it.

Submitted by Baltimore County