Starbucks ditched the straws and launched the first of their new strawless lids in early August of 2019.

“Say hello to the lid that will replace a billion straws a year,” is what they told everyone when the lids were introduced to us. While they may be replacing straws, they are adding approximately .93 grams of plastic to each beverage with the new strawless lids than the old straw/lid ratio combined.

This argument was brought to Starbucks’ attention to which they responded that the straws are not as recyclable as the lids, therefore, the new lids still help the environment. So, are Starbucks’ new lids helping the environment?

Starbucks’ strawless lids are a useless way of promoting the environment. The idea is geared in the right direction, but the actual product is poorly made. If Starbucks is going to try to promote the environment, then they should use less plastic while also incorporating the more recyclable plastic.

Along with using more plastic, many customers still prefer a straw with their beverage. Complaints of swallowing the small ice cubes and having watered down tasting coffee are spilling into the cafes. 

The lids are utilizing more plastic than normal and are not designed well enough to convince people to ditch the straws.

These new strawless lids are not helping anyone and are simply a useless nuisance used to trick people into thinking they’re doing good for the environment. What we need is a lid design that uses less plastic while also eliminating the need for straws. 

For now, strawless lids are doing nothing for the environment.