Sacramento area Starbucks struggle to recycle plastic cups, investigation finds
SACRAMENTO - A CBS News investigation found that Starbucks, which is one of the biggest users of single-use plastic cups, is struggling to get its plastic cups recycled.
CBS News and CBS 13 wanted to find out where the plastic cold cups go by tracking them with AirTags.
CBS 13's community journalists dropped off the plastic cups with the trackers in three Starbucks locations: one in West Sacramento, one in Stockton and one in Sacramento.
Two of the AirTags were un-trackable, but the one dropped in Sacramento pinged to a landfill in Manteca — never recycled.
CBS 13's Tori Apodaca discovered, if you want to have your cup recycled at the store, you have to be aware of what bin you are dropping your cup in.
People come back to Starbucks for its consistency and to experience community over a cup of coffee, but when the meeting wraps up and it is time to throw the plastic cup you sipped on, you are often faced with three throw-away options in a Starbucks store.
"What I have noticed is people are not mindful and sometimes it drives me a little crazy, so I will go through and put the right thing in the recycle container versus the trash," Dr. Michelle Stevens who is a Starbucks customer and environmental studies professor at Sacramento State University. "I always recycle mine with the hope they are being recycled."
CBS 13's test started by placing a plastic Starbucks cup with an AirTag tracker in what most people would think is the proper recycling bin at a Sacramento Starbucks.
We discovered you have to read the fine print depending on which Starbucks location you are at, even though if you look closely at the cup, you may think it can be recycled based on the symbol at the bottom of it.
At the Sacramento Starbucks CBS 13 went to, the cold cup icon was on the landfill bin. While the cups we dropped in Stockton and West Sacramento, had the cold cup icons on the recycling bin.
CBS followed the cup's journey from the recycling bin, which first pinged at the Republic Services Waste Transfer Station on Elder Creek Road.
Its final destination was tracked to a landfill in Manteca, never recycled, which is exactly where the store's sign indicated it would go.
"That which you just described really demonstrates the problem," said California Senator for the 38th District Catherine Blakespear from San Diego County.
Blakespear co-authored the bill that just was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom that will ban all plastic bags which also aren't recyclable at California grocery store checkouts in 2026.
"The issue is there isn't a use for all this miscellaneous plastic, so the used Starbucks cup really needs to be paper or it needs to be reusable," said Blakespear.
But getting customers on board could be a problem.
So are big companies ready to change? Starbucks is making strides. It currently allows customers to bring their own cup to any Starbucks for a fill-up and is looking to reduce its waste by 50% by 2030, but their plastic cups appear destined for landfills and not recycling facilities.
"There are a number of things that get in the way of making sure that a recyclable cup ends up where it's intended," said Starbucks Vice President for Product Innovation and Solutions Amelia Landers. "What we are focused on doing is controlling what's in our control. and that's not only the design of innovative materials up front for the total waste stream, but it's also educating our customers in store.
CBS News sat down with Landers to discuss the network's findings and how Starbucks is responding. Landers said Starbucks' goal is to have more responsible plastic cups and rely on more reusables by 2030.
"It matters, I think, because people really want to know if corporations are being honest with them or not," said Jan Dell who is a chemical engineer and the woman behind the idea of tracking the plastic cups.
Dell takes issue with Starbucks' in-store recycling bins.
"The other stores don't have it," said Dell.
She said there needs to be stronger regulation on single-use plastics nationwide, like what is seen in the Golden State.
CBS 13 asked Blakespear how other states can learn from California when it comes to regulation on single-use plastics.
"Part of it is recognizing what's working and then emulating those things," said Blakespear.
Blakespear said there are currently California laws in the rule-making process that will put the responsibility back on those who make the plastics, finding out what happens at the end of a plastic product's life.
"We are going to have less reliance on plastic cups, more responsible plastic cups, and more reliance on reusables," said Landers.
Of the 36 plastic Starbucks cups that CBS News dropped that were traceable, only four ended up in recycling centers.
