How Starbucks is Growing Access to Cup Recycling

Starbucks is growing the number of cups that are suitable for curb-side recycling to reduce waste and support sustainability efforts. 

A sustainablity milestone

Starbucks has achieved a major sustainability milestone as its polypropylene cold beverage cups have earned the ‘Widely Recyclable’ designation from How2Recycle, North America’s leading on-pack recycling label. The update means that more than 60% of U.S. households can now recycle these cups through curb-side or drop-off programmes which is a significant step toward reducing waste and supporting a circular economy.

This achievement was made possible through collaboration with multiple partners, including NextGen Consortium managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Centre for the Circular Economy, The Recycling Partnership, and WM, North America’s largest recycler. Through the partnership, these organisations have expanded recycling access to over 2 million new households in just four months.

Expanding access through collaboration

Polypropylene cups, widely used for cold beverages, historically faced limited recycling options compared with other plastics like HDPE (used in milk or detergent bottles). The collective effort of these partners addresses this gap by aligning design, infrastructure, and consumer education across the value chain:

• NextGen Consortium: Worked with major companies, including Starbucks, to develop solutions advancing circularity in foodservice packaging.
• The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition: Invested in recycling infrastructure, provided education and guidance, and supplied real-time system data.
• How2Recycle: Applied clear labelling standards to provide consistent guidance for consumers.
• Starbucks: Leveraged scale and commitment to sustainable packaging to accelerate adoption.
• WM: Developed end markets with KW Plastics, built processing infrastructure, and created pathways for curbside acceptance.

“Expanding access, improving infrastructure and strengthening consumer communications takes collaboration across the value chain,” said Paul Nowak, Executive Director of GreenBlue, the nonprofit behind How2Recycle.  “No single organisation can do this alone. The work we’re doing today has benefits beyond any single material. By investing in infrastructure and consumer-tested communications, we’re driving industry and behaviour change at scale.”

Closing the recycling gap

The Recycling Partnership reports that households generate as much polypropylene as HDPE, yet polypropylene recycling rates remain one-third of HDPE’s. Increasing polypropylene recovery reduces landfill waste, improves material quality, and lowers demand for virgin plastics.

“Achieving the Widely Recyclable designation for polypropylene cups is a significant milestone,” said Marika McCauley Sine, Chief Sustainability Officer at Starbucks.

“It reflects what’s possible when businesses, recyclers and communities work together to create solutions that can reduce waste and make recycling easier for customers who opt for to-go beverages. We’re committed to continuing our collective effort to build a circular system that can benefit people and the planet.”

A recycling milestone

“This recycling designation change for polypropylene cups marks an important step forward for the circularity of foodservice packaging in the U.S. The Closed Loop Center for the Circular Economy, through our NextGen Consortium, is proud to be a part of this work and to celebrate this milestone alongside key industry leaders,” said Kate Daly, CEO of Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy.

“Contributing to this work to make polypropylene cups widely recyclable is part of our broader work to accelerate the recovery, reuse and recycling of foodservice packaging. We look forward to continuing to expand recycling access for more packaging and materials – a critical part of building a circular economy.”

Next steps and finding the next level

While more than 60% of households can now recycle polypropylene cups, industry leaders acknowledge that further work is needed.

• Improve consumer education and engagement
• Expand infrastructure and curb-side programme adoption
• Promote better cup design and use of recycled content
• Support consistent recycling policies and community participation

How partnerships can make recycling more accessible

“Plastic to‑go cups becoming recyclable curb-side is a major milestone made possible by years of investment, innovation and collaboration,” said Tara Hemmer, Chief Sustainability Officer, WM.

“As the largest recycler in North America, we’re proud to help capture and recycle more of the everyday materials people rely on, and this achievement proves what’s possible when communities, companies and industry leaders come together to make recycling more accessible.”

The increased demand for recycling

“We have watched demand for post‑consumer polypropylene grow steadily over the last decade as more companies shifted toward lighter and more efficient packaging,” said Stephanie Baker, KM, Director of Advocacy & Marketing.

“That change increased the amount of polypropylene on store shelves and in recycling streams. It also created the need for strong domestic markets to keep this material from being exported at low value. By setting clear purchasing specifications and investing in the ability to recycle polypropylene at scale, we helped build a pathway that keeps this material in the United States where it can be reprocessed into something new.”

A powerful partnership to reach millions of households

“This is meaningful progress for polypropylene recycling,” said Kate Davenport, Chief Impact Officer at The Recycling Partnership.

“With 75.5 million households now able to recycle PP cups, we’ve reached the threshold for on-pack labeling — a critical tool for building consumer understanding. It’s a first step worth commending. But access alone is not enough. Only 20 percent of PP packaging is currently captured, and 76 percent of all recyclables are still lost at the household level. That’s why our focus remains on what it takes to move the system forward: clear communication, stronger engagement, and continued investment in communities. Backed by national recycling system data and close relationships with local recycling programs, we see both the gains and the gaps. The Partnership is committed to closing them.”