starbucks and mcdonald's join forces to finally end cup waste

in an unlikely alliance, two of the world’s largest food and beverage retailers have joined forces as part of an initiative to reduce cup waste. under the nextgen cup consortium, convened by closed loop partners, a platform that invests in sustainable consumer goods, recycling and the development of the circular economy, mcdonald’s has joined starbucks as founding member of the group to develop a global recyclable and/or compostable cup solution.

starbucks’ earthsleeve™ hot cup sleeves are also both recyclable with cardboard, and compostable in commercial systems
image courtesy of starbucks

‘we are proud to come together with industry partners like mcdonald’s to drive innovative, scalable solutions for cup waste,’ mentions colleen chapman, vice president of global social impact focused on sustainability for starbucks, ‘a better cup will benefit the entire industry and we invite others to join us as we move these efforts forward.’ the initiative follows starbucks‘ previous efforts to improve its ecological footprint, including the 2015 global rollout of its earthsleeve™ hot cup sleeves, made from less paper and more post-consumer content. mcdonald’s has now committed $5 million in partnership with closed loop partners to help launch the nextgen cup consortium, bringing the total funds dedicated to the challenge to $10 million. the first focus of nextgen will be the fiber-based hot and cold cup, as it is the most pressing issue faced by the industry, while then its work will expand to the entire cup system, including lids and straws. 

the current mcdonald’s coffee cup
image courtesy of mcdonald’s