Mumbai: Three months ahead of World Environment Day (June 5), TATA Starbucks Pvt Ltd has reiterated its commitment towards environment sustainability and announced a full transition to compostable and recyclable packaging solutions. The announcement comes a year after the Seattle-based company committed to eliminate plastic straws from its stores globally by 2020. On February 21, Navin Gurnaney, CEO, said that coffee chain’s first step in India for the environment began in 2012, with the use of paper bags, paper sleeves and paper napkins made from recycled fibre.
Sustainability is embedded in the fabric of Tata Starbucks’ mission. We are proud to be the first in the industry to be adopting such packaging solutions to further innovate the Starbucks experience for our customers, Mr Gurnaney said.
All the 138 stores across India will switch to eco-friendly cutlery, stirrers, cups, straws, cap lids, etc made from corn starch. Unlike the plastic items that take hundreds of years to degrade, the new green options will decompose within two-three years. When asked if the transition will affect the cost of products, Mr Gurnaney said that though the move might cost more to the company, the customers will not have to bear the extra cost.
Also Read: #BeatPlasticPollution: India Paves The Way To Combat Marine Pollution With Latest Partnerships
The coffee chain will provide a platform to the customers where they can participate and contribute towards the environment. For the same, it has started the ‘Bring Your Own Tumbler’ initiative. As per this incentive, the customers will get Rs 10 off if they get their own cup, glass or bottle for the coffee. Under the ‘Grounds for your Garden’ initiative, customers can pick up a free bag of used coffee grounds from selected stores. The grounds act a rich manure for plants.
Plastic Waste, A Global Crisis
With 80 per cent of marine litter comprising plastic, instances of plastic residue found in marine species – such as fish, sea turtles, seals, whales and birds and therefore in the human food chain has increased by 40 per cent in the last decade, according to EU. Nearly 700 marine species in world oceans are threatened by plastic. In such a grave scenario, a move to reduce plastic usage and curtail indiscriminate dumping of plastic waste flow is the need of the hour.
The European Union (EU) Parliament recently backed this by committing to eliminate single-use plastic items by 2021. There will be a plastic ban on products where alternatives are readily available and affordable, including plastic cotton swabs, cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and sticks for balloons. Nearly 193 countries including India had pledged to work towards eliminating plastic pollution in the sea at the United Nations (UN) Environment Assembly in 2017 that was held in Nairobi, Kenya.
The European Union (EU) Parliament recently backed this by committing to eliminate single-use plastic items by 2021. There will be a plastic ban on products where alternatives are readily available and affordable, including plastic cotton swabs, cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and sticks for balloons. Nearly 193 countries including India had pledged to work towards eliminating plastic pollution in the sea at the United Nations (UN) Environment Assembly in 2017 that was held in Nairobi, Kenya.
Also Read: Ocean Pollution: Meet The Sea Squirt, Sucking Up Plastic Particles From The Sea
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies
