Starbucks is to ban plastic straws from all of of its stores by 2020, amounting to the elimination of more than one billion plastic straws each year.
The coffee chain becomes the largest food and drink company operating globally to do so, citing the environmental threat to oceans.
The company said it will make a strawless lid available at 8,000 stores in the US and Canada for certain drinks.
It comes a week after Starbucks’s US hometown of Seattle banned single-use plastic straws and utensils at businesses that sell food or drinks in the city.
Starbucks said cold beverages in which a straw is typically included make up 50% of the drinks its sells, up from just 37% five years ago.
:: Sky’s Ocean Rescue campaign encourages people to reduce their single-use plastics. You can find out more about the campaign and how to get involved at www.skyoceanrescue.com
Source: Sky