1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

Starbucks is misleading customers with "widely recyclable" labels on its plastic cold-drink cups, and I want you to investigate and hold the company accountable. A 2026 Beyond Plastics study tracked 53 GPS-tagged polypropylene cups placed in Starbucks in-store recycling bins across nine states. Of the 36 that reached a final destination, zero ended up at a recycling facility. Sixteen went to landfills, nine to incinerators, and three to materials recovery facilities that bale but do not actually recycle plastic. Starbucks earned that "widely recyclable" label from How2Recycle, an industry-affiliated group, and called it a "big milestone, with huge impact." But a late 2025 Greenpeace report found only two commercially operating polypropylene recycling facilities in the entire United States. As former EPA regional administrator Judith Enck put it, "accepting a plastic item for recycling is not the same as actually recycling it." Beyond that, peer-reviewed research links plastic waste to respiratory illness, endocrine disruption, and cancer. Starbucks should switch to fiber-based cups, promote reusables, and immediately remove these misleading recycling labels from its bins.