Starbucks customers go through about 4 billion to-go cups every year — and almost all of those end up in a landfill. While it would seem the paper cups could easily be recycled, they are lined with non-recyclable plastic to help keep your coffee warm and the cup from leaking. But the Seattle-based coffee giant is finally taking steps to make the world a little greener. They’ve teamed with Closed Loop Partners, a group that invests in recycling technologies and sustainable goods, to create the NextGen Cup Challenge. The challenge will offer $10 million in grants to innovative entrepreneurs “working on ideas that could lead to the development of more sustainable cup solutions.” Current cups are made with 10 percent post-consumer recycled fiber, so depending on where you live, they might be partially recyclable, but the goal is to create a fully recyclable and even compostable cup no matter what corner of…
Starbucks offering $10 million to development of eco-friendly cup
