Starbucks abandons any pretense of recycling

Waste receptacles at newly opened Starbucks, Renfrew Avenue, Vancouver BC

Two-stream waste receptacle at Starbucks, Los Angeles, California 

Starbucks old-style three-stream waste receptacle, Vancouver, BC

Starbucks is having a tough time meeting its environmental goals.

"In 2008 we set a goal to implement front-of-store recycling in all company-owned locations by 2015. Since that time, Starbucks has implemented recycling in more than a dozen markets and established relationships with several municipalities to expand their acceptance of materials produced by Starbucks in local recycling systems." (Source: http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/global-report/environmental-stewardship/front-of-store-recycling)

Despite offering a small discount, fewer than 5% of customers bring their own reusable cups. And any pretense of front-of-store recycling seems to have disappeared.

A recently opened Starbucks in Vancouver, the top picture, has abandoned the firm's previous efforts of trying to get customers to sort the waste into recyclable and non-recyclable streams.

And as long as Starbucks, and other fast food firms, can get away with abandoning any recycling they will do it. Labour is just too expensive, and quite frankly sorting the waste is a horrible job. But that does not reduce the need to do the right thing.