DEMONSTRATIONS AT 9 STARBUCKS STORES ACROSS NYS CALL ON COFFEE GIANT TO STOP LYING ABOUT PLASTICS RECYCLING

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ALBANY, NY (09/28/2026) (readMedia)-- Environmentalists in nine New York communities from Buffalo to Manhattan are calling on Starbucks to stop telling customers that its single-use plastic cold cups are "widely recyclable," after a nationwide tracking investigation by Beyond Plastics could not confirm a single cup being recycled.

The demonstrations in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Westchester, New Paltz, Saugerties, Rochester, Buffalo, and Albany are part of a national Starbucks Week of Action urging the company to stop saying that their plastic cups used for cold drinks get recycled, when they are not.

"Customers who carefully put their Starbucks cup into a recycling bin inside Starbucks stores reasonably expect it to be recycled," said Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and a former EPA regional administrator, who will join the demonstration at an Albany, NY, store Saturday. "Our investigation found something very different. Not one of the cups we successfully tracked was recycled. Starbucks needs to stop misleading customers about plastic recycling and focus instead on reducing single-use plastic and offer reusable cups and glasses at their stores,"

Beyond Plastics, its partners, and environmentalists nationwide are calling on Starbucks to:

1. Stop portraying its single-use plastic cold cups as "widely recyclable" when the company cannot demonstrate that the cups are actually being recycled at scale.
2. Remove images and messaging that may lead customers to believe Starbucks plastic cups placed in store recycling bins will be recycled.
3. Honor its existing policy to provide reusable cups for on-site dining.
4. Replace plastic cups for their to-go cold drinks with fiber-based cups.

UPDATE ON BEYOND PLASTICS TRACKING INVESTIGATION

Beyond Plastics launched an investigation to test the company's claims that its plastic cups placed in recycling bins inside Starbucks stores get recycled. The cups in question are polypropylene, or No. 5 plastic, cold-beverage cups with the Starbucks logo.

Investigators placed Bluetooth-enabled trackers inside cups and deposited them in recycling bins at Starbucks stores around the country. The initial investigation, conducted from January through March 2026, found that none of the trackers that returned usable data pinged from an actual recycling facility. A spot check of additional trackers conducted in July and August, months after Starbucks was informed about the initial results, also found zero cups reached recycling facilities.

An interactive map and more details on the plastic cups' journeys can be found at beyondplastics.org/starbucks-cups.

In total, 69 trackers were deployed and 47 returned data. Zero cups were confirmed to have been recycled.

Instead:

• 23 ended up in landfills, including two cups that travelled 1,000 miles from NYC to Alabama;
• 11 ended up at incinerators, including the Peekskill, NY incinerator;
• 10 were last detected at waste-transfer stations, typically a stop on the way to a landfill or incinerator;
• 3 reached materials recovery facilities, or MRFs, which sort and bale recyclable materials but do not themselves recycle plastic; and
• 0 were confirmed recycled.

The results underscore the difference between a product being accepted by a recycling program, and that product actually being recycled into new material.

NEW YORK ENVIRONMENTALISTS CALL ON THE NYS LEGISLATURE TO PASS THE PACKAGING REDUCTION AND RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE ACT IN ALBANY

Advocates in 9 cities across the state were part of a national week of action totaling 22 actions in 11 states, all focused on Starbucks deceptive recycling claims. The investigation's findings have especially caught the attention of New York advocates who have been working to pass state legislation to address corporate plastic waste and protect environmental justice communities. The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (S1464-A/A149-A) would require companies like Starbucks to reduce their plastic packaging and reimburse municipalities for waste management costs.

New York state lobby filings show Starbucks retained lobby firms Greenberg and Traurig and the Roffe Group to lobby to oppose the bill during the 2026 session, at a rate of $10,000 and $9,500 per month, respectively.

"When Starbucks falsely implies its plastic cups are recycled, that can seriously undermine legislative solutions to the plastic waste crisis. It's a one-two punch for environmental justice communities who are breathing the air where that plastic gets burned or dumped," said Alexis Goldsmith, Senior Organizer for Beyond Plastics. Beyond Plastics lobbies on the Packaging Reduction Act and leads a grassroots campaign to support a strong bill that will actually solve the plastic problem.

One of the Starbucks cups Beyond Plastics tracked last pinged at the Peekskill WIN waste incinerator (formerly Wheelabrator), the largest source of air pollution in Westchester County. Westchester Alliance for Sustainable Solutions (WASS), a group fighting the incinerator and advocating for the Packaging Reduction Act, will speak at a demonstration in Peekskill this Saturday.

"Starbucks made $1.8 billion in profit in North America last year. How much of that was made from polluting our air, soil, and waterways with single use plastic? How much did that plastic pollution cost our communities in healthcare and waste disposal?" said Courtney Williams, a cancer researcher who founded WASS. "I know that Starbucks cups are not recycled because I have toured the trash incinerator and seen the cups there myself! When that plastic is burned, people in my community, an environmental justice community, breathe it. That pollution has been directly linked to the health problems Peekskill residents face - asthma, COPD, and heart attacks."

Meanwhile, Beyond Plastics Queens will hold their event three miles from where that cup was placed in a Long Island City Starbucks-branded store recycling bin.

Environmentalists in Manhattan and Brooklyn will focus on cups that went to landfills as far away as Alabama, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. New York City spends nearly half a billion in taxpayer dollars every year to export municipal waste, according to the New York City Department of Sanitation.

REACTION TO INVESTIGATION AND WEEK OF DEMONSTRATIONS:

Senator Pete Harckham, Chair of the NYS Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, Westchester: "The only way we can reduce the tidal wave of plastic and packaging waste that is heading to our landfills and incinerators is for the producers of it all to commit to renewable alternatives. Our top corporations creating plastic waste need to recognize the changes to be made that will make a difference and join the fight to save our planet from the toxic impacts of plastic."

"Corporate greenwashing by a company as large as Starbucks is not just about misleading consumers, it is about putting a corporate image ahead of the health and well-being of our communities. Here in Western Queens, we know what it means to live with the consequences of environmental pollution. My district includes Asthma Alley, where generations of families have experienced the health impacts of poor air quality. That reality is why we fight so hard for environmental justice and why corporations must be held accountable for the waste and pollution they create," said New York Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, Queens.

"New Yorkers shouldn't be misled into thinking a plastic cup is being recycled when it isn't. If Starbucks is serious about reducing plastic waste, it needs to move beyond promises and make genuine reuse the standard in its stores. That means giving employees the staffing, equipment, training, and support they need to do it right. We can protect our environment without putting another burden on workers, and large corporations like Starbucks have the resources and responsibility to do both," said Assemblymember Steven Raga, Queens.

"Buffalo is a city defined by its connection to our waterways, so reducing plastic pollution is not an abstract issue for us," said Fillmore District Council Member Mitch Nowakowski. "The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act would help cut down on unnecessary packaging, strengthen recycling systems, and ensure producers play a greater role in managing the waste they create. Policies like this encourage businesses like Starbucks to innovate and adopt more sustainable practices, while reducing the burden on taxpayers and protecting our environment for future generations."

"Starbucks' refusal to implement meaningful plastic reduction dooms communities, like those in Louisiana's Cancer Alley, where we struggle with the harmful health and environmental impacts of the production of plastic," said Jo Banner, cofounder and codirector of The Descendants Project, an organization of Black descendants of slavery that documents and fights environmental racism in Louisiana's petrochemical corridor, where plastic for products like Starbucks cups is produced. "Communities need more than a coffee break - they need a break from toxic plastic production driven by companies like Starbucks."

Starbucks Workers United, the employees' union, issued the following statement: "We are proud to stand in solidarity with Beyond Plastics in their efforts to hold Starbucks accountable for millions of plastic items in our communities every single day. As we have repeatedly shown, Starbucks continues to stray away from its values, including by repeatedly breaking labor law and refusing to settle a fair contract with over 12,000 union baristas who power the company every day. Starbucks says that one of their missions is to 'do the right thing, even when it's hard,' so we are ready for Starbucks to honor that commitment and fully implement its reusable policy to serve all customers in our cafes in ceramic mugs and glasses, including the staffing needed to support it."

LINK: View Beyond Plastics' full investigation, tracking data and interactive map

Events in New York State Include:

• Queens Sept. 29, 10am at 78-25 37th Ave, Jackson Heights, with Beyond Plastics Queens
• New Paltz Oct. 2, 12noon at 1 Plattekill Ave with Beyond Plastics New Paltz
• Saugerties Oct. 3, 10am at 334 NY-212 with Citizens Concerned About Plastic Pollution
• Buffalo Oct. 3, 10:45am at 933 Elmwood Ave with Beyond Plastics Buffalo
• Brooklyn Oct. 3,11am at 341 Eastern Pkwy with Beyond Plastics Brooklyn
• Albany Oct. 3, 12noon at 1244 Western Avenue with Judith Enck and Beyond Plastics
• Westchester Oct. 3, 12noon at 46 S Central Ave, Hartsdale with Beyond Plastics Lower Westchester, WASS Peekskill, Mothers Out Front, Beyond Plastics Rockland County, Green Ossining, Climate Reality Project Westchester
• New York City Oct. 4, 11am, at 1806 Broadway at the corner of 59th St. and Broadway at Columbus Circle, with Beyond Plastics, It's Easy Being Green
• Rochester Oct. 4, 1:30pm at 668 Blossom Rd with Third Act Rochester

ABOUT BEYOND PLASTICS

Beyond Plastics works nationwide to end plastic pollution through education, advocacy and policy change. The organization combines environmental policy expertise with grassroots organizing to reduce the climate, health and environmental impacts of plastic production, use and disposal.