Beyond Plastics released a three‑month study that placed trackers in Starbucks cold‑beverage cups and followed them from in‑store recycling bins to their final disposal. The data show that none of the 36 cups that transmitted a signal reached a recycling facility, contradicting the chain’s claim that its polypropylene cups are “widely recyclable.”

Researchers inserted 53 Bluetooth‑enabled tags into cups at 35 locations across nine states and Washington, D.C. Of the 36 tags that survived handling, 16 landed in landfills, nine were incinerated, eight stopped at waste‑transfer stations and three arrived at material‑recovery facilities that sort but do not actually recycle the plastic. 0 cups pinged a recycling plant.

Starbucks promoted a How2Recycle update on Feb. 2, 2026 that labelled polypropylene “widely recyclable,” suggesting over 60 % of U.S. households could curbside‑recycle the cups. National plastic‑recycling rates hover below 6 %, and only a handful of facilities actually process post‑consumer polypropylene, according to a Dec. 2025 Greenpeace survey. The mismatch between labelling and infrastructure fuels consumer deception.

With cold drinks accounting for roughly three‑quarters of its U.S. sales, Starbucks discards millions of polypropylene cups each year. Beyond Plastics urges the chain to abandon the “recyclable” narrative and shift toward reusable or compostable alternatives, noting that accepting a cup in a bin does not guarantee material recovery. The study provides concrete evidence that current recycling pathways are ineffective.