Starbucks and Packaging Recycling

Starbucks wants its cups to be 100% recyclable by 2012. That’s a great goal for a company that uses three billion cups annually.

So Starbucks has begun to gathered stakeholders from every step in their supply chain and beyond to discuss the matter. Cup Summit included suppliers, paperboard companies, municipalities, recyclers, waste haulers, manufacturers, and environmental NGOs.

While cross-channel discussions were reportedly a big eye opener, many are skeptical, which is typical of any ambitious undertaking.

Sourcing 100% recycled paperboard is relatively easy. The key issue is related to the recycling the used cups.

Regulations are the first obstacle. Starbucks must be able to get their cups as old corrugated cardboard (OCC) so they can be recycled in the first place. That’s the basic regulatory hurdle.

Then the next obstacle is that the cups must be recyclable at the local level. The communities must first recycle, and not all do. Understand that recycling has always been a numbers game. That is, is there enough of the used material to sell it in bulk to someone who will use the material as a raw material. So even if there is a market for a material, there may not be a market near enough to make the transaction economically viable. In simple terms, low volume of a material and transportation costs (both economic and for sustainablity-minded companies, carbon footprint) may be deal breakers.

Recycling old corrugated cardboard is widespread, so getting the cups to qualify is important. But keep in mind they are contaminated by the contents. For example, you can’t recycle pizza boxes because of the grease and cheese residue. On disposal, Starbucks’ cups held or still hold, coffee, tea, milk, sugar and other toppings which could preclude recycling.

This segues to the real elephant in the room (pardon my mixing of metaphors throughout), Starbucks’ customers. Most cups leave by the front door or the drive through and how do you control them? Influencing guest actions has been a real bugbear for amusement parks and hotels because even if these organizations provide recycling containers, they aren’t often used properly and often the recyclable material is tossed in the trash receptacle anyway.

So it’s very tough for organizations whose guests operate within their boundaries, but like I said, most Starbucks cups leave the premises and end up far from Starbucks’ control.

From where I sit, the initiative deserves credit. It’s ambitious, it’s worthwhile and to succeed it must be a game changer. Like Gazelle, this is one project I’ll be following going forward.

What do you think? Is the project feasible? What would have to change? Let me know!