Farewell, straw ...

There are 28 thousand coffee shops around the world, millions of coffee cups sold, a wide range of drinks and a logo known anywhere in the world - all this is Starbucks, the founder of coffee fashion and the largest network that does not have serious competitors in the world. Expressing its environmental initiative, today Starbucks offers to remove plastic straws from circulation.

The company claims that it annually uses about a billion of these straws, while it is not difficult to abandon them. Completely remove the "straw" from circulation in all of its coffee houses, including those that are working under license, the company promises already by 2020. Residents of some American cities have already learned what it is like to live without this bright device. It turned out that it was no worse than with it.

There are about 28 thousand Starbucks coffee shops around the world, photo WEB

The coffee giant offered a convenient and environmentally friendly alternative - a special lid with a "spout", like children's "non-spills". This design allows you to comfortably drink cold drinks, which today account for almost half of the total volume of tea and coffee sold by the company. It should be noted that three years ago this indicator was at the level of 37%, which means that the popularity of such beverages is growing, and the volume of used straws grows with it.

According to the environmental organization "5 Gires", plastic straws are at the "honorable" 4th position among the main pollutants of the ocean after PET packaging, bottles and bags. Surprisingly, the cups for coffee were only on the 13th place. Experts explain it simply - the straws are light, they can be simply carry away from the dumps into the ocean. And besides, coffee cups are already partially processed today.

Such lids will replace plastic straws, photo © Starbucks

The fuss about the problem of ocean pollution was flared up by "straws" after the appearance on the web of a video filmed by a marine biologist at the University of Texas. In the video, experts extract a stuck straw from the nose of a sea turtle. Suffering animal caused a whole flurry of comments and, apparently, moved the solution of the issue from a dead end.

Meanwhile, "straw" is not just a fashionable device, as many people think. For some people with disabilities, this is the only way to drink. In addition, dentists strongly recommend their quite healthy patients to drink cold and hot, as well as coloring liquid only through the straw to exclude their contact with tooth enamel. Therefore, Starbucks promises that for those who need a straw, it will be provided on request for free, as before. Only now such a "bauble" will be made of biodegradable material.

Cold drinks make up almost half of the total sold volume, photo WEB

The innovation has already been tested in Seattle, where in early July the law on the prohibition of the use of disposable utensils at public catering points came into effect. Similar restrictions have been introduced in California. Eco-policy covers Europe - France introduced a complete ban on the use of plastic dishes, the same way plans to go and the UK. In the meantime, Europe is thinking, Kenya is acting. In 2017, they introduced a severe ban on the use of plastic, and violators risk their freedom.

It is not excluded that the eco-initiative of Starbucks will push other networks to abandon the "straws". "When a large company does something, it puts pressure on the rest. Soon the situation will change dramatically. Believe me, nobody will want to be known, as the latter, using dangerous PET packaging"- assures the leadership of the coffee leader. Wait and see. In the meantime, everyone can make the planet purer by simply abandoning the proposed straws. It's simple!

Victoria Romanova, Russia, Moscow

Here can be your advertising!