Starbuck's Coffee Cups are not recyclable. Repeat after me: Starbuck's Coffee Cups are not recyclable. It is now time to divulge I have been ruining the one bin recycle cart for everybody by putting my Starbuck's Coffee Cup in the bin. Yes, it's me.
I should start with how I discovered the information. I sent 600+ Capri Sun pouches to TerraCycle.net for our school's recycling program. They give you .02 cents per pouch and turn them into useful up-cycled products all while diverting them from the landfill. Don't worry, we're getting back to the coffee. Anyway, 600+ Capri Sun pouches, no matter how judiciously you have emptied them, ALWAYS have a tiny bit of sticky, drippy mess in each pouch. Multiply one little drip by 600 and you have a soggy cardboard box. I tried a couple of tricks to keep the box dry but nothing worked well.
I started thinking about my Starbucks cup. Lately, I haven't been that into my beverage. I'm not sure what's wrong with me. Perhaps the economy is getting better and I'm feeling conspicuous consumption come on? I left a cup of half full coffee sitting on my desk in a disposable coffee cup. Yes, I know that's some sort of Seattle crime and yes I know this whole problem wouldn't exist if I would bring my own cup but I didn't drink it all and I didn't bring my own cup and if I did, I wouldn't be writing this and if you cared that much about my drinking habits, you wouldn't be reading this but would be outside my house to chastised me.
So, I accidentally swigged the coffee. GOOD GOD! How long have I left this on my desk? The entire weekend? Why didn't it leak? It's just cardboard, right? RIGHT? What in the hell is this stuff?
Go to the source and ask. "Mmmmm, Starbucks Barista, can I recycle my cup?" (My planned follow up was why not, what are they made of?) Barista, "I don't know. I'll check before your next visit." It's unnecessary to repeat this dialog but suffice it to say, I asked, A LOT.
It turns out. YOU CANNOT RECYCLE YOUR CUP OR RE-HEAT YOUR CUP IN THE MICROWAVE. Why not? It's lined with plastic to help insulate the cup and keep the cardboard intact. If you microwave the cup, the plastic will melt into your beverage thus exposing you to toxins.
Starbucks pledged in 2009 after a cup convention to make all of their cups recyclable by 2012.
My lingering question is, at what temperature does the microwave make the plastic melt and at what temperature is my coffee served?
