Your next Frappuccino could come in a new cup as Starbucks is set to rollout ... trends now
Starbucks announced Thursday it is redesigning plastic cups used for iced drinks.
The coffee giant is set to roll out disposable cups in next month combat the more than 35 million pounds of plastic its customers discard when finished with their iced beverages.
The revamp will see up to 20 percent less plastic in the new cups that will first be available in the US and Canada this month, followed by thousands of stores in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by next year.
The move comes as the company's Frappuccinos and other cold drinks account for 75 percent of its US beverage sales - meaning more of its clear cups are making their way to landfills.
The coffee giant is set to roll out disposable cups in next month combat the more than 35 million pounds of plastic its customers discard when finished with their iced beverages
Amelia Landers, Starbucks' vice president of product innovation, said the Seattle-based company spent the last four years developing the new containers.
'Engineers tested thousands of iterations to see how much plastic they could remove while still making the cup feel sturdy.'
'We feel like it´s industry-leading,' Landers said. 'It´s the best expression of a cold plastic cup.'
The Seattle-based company recently reported that about six billion disposable cups and mugs worldwide each year - most of which end up in landfills or tossed into the environment.
Both hot and cold beverage cups include Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that can leach into food and beverages and potentially cause health problems.
The paper cups are lined with a plastic that makes them impossible to recycle.
However, the current plastic cups are made largely of polypropylene (PP), which is a type of polymer is the most versatile and easiest to recycle.
However, products made of PP take around 20 to 30 years to completely decompose.
Starbucks has not shared what other materials will be used in place of plastic.
The new cold cups feature raised dots near the bottom, so baristas - including those with impaired vision - can
