Starbucks joins green movement, to ditch plastic straws

In view of the environment threat to oceans, Starbucks has announced to ban plastic straws from all of its stores worldwide in less than two years.

Joining the green movement, the company becomes the largest food and beverage company operating globally to do so.

Starbucks on Monday said that it was making available a strawless lid at 8,000 stores in the US and Canada for certain drinks.

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The switch will help rid over 1 billion plastic straws a year, according to Starbucks Coffee Co estimates.

The company's announcement comes a week after it's hometown, Seattle, banned single-use plastic straws and utensils at businesses that sell food or drinks in the city.

Starbucks said cold beverages in which a straw is typically included make up 50 per cent of the drinks its sells, up from just 37 per cent five years ago.

With inputs from agencies