Coffee How we are Working toward Overcoming Recycling Barriers

blogs.starbucks — Today, we are very excited to have our very own, Jim Hanna – director of Environmental Impact – speak at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington D.C.Jim will present some of our challenges and achievements around recycling and will ask mayors and other municipal leaders across the United States to improve local recycling systems. Currently, recycling capabilities vary across the U.S. and this presents a significant barrier for Starbucks as we work to address our goal of being an environmental leader and one of the top ideas of all time on MyStarbucksIdea – Recycling.Today, we recycle one or more types of waste in approximately 70 percent of U.S. Company-Operated Starbucks stores where we manage waste.  What many of you may not know is that our cup is actually recyclable but only if you live in a city/municipality that supports recycling like Seattle, Toronto or San Francisco.  Speaking of San Francisco and Toronto, did you know that in 2009, we launched front-of-house recycling (and composting, in San Francisco) in all Starbucks stores in these cities?  This is just the beginning!In addition to mayors, we are also working with raw materials suppliers, cup manufacturers, retail and beverage partners, recyclers, environmental NGOs and experts from academia. In partnership with these diverse groups, we are working to develop a recyclable cup solution by 2012. We will keep you updated when we have more exciting updates to share.