Starbucks banning plastic straws — but you can have a sippy cup

By Kaitlyn Alanis / The Wichita Eagle

If you were like many other kids, you probably stopped drinking from a sippy cup when you were 3 or 4 years old — and you probably never had coffee in your spill-proof cup.

But times have changed.

Now years later, it’s time to accept that you may need to start drinking from a sippy-cup-like lid again, even while drinking coffee and tea.

As part of a global movement to reduce the amount of plastic straws that lead to ocean pollution and environmental waste, Starbucks announced last week that it would be phasing out plastic straws from its more than 28,000 stores wordwide by 2020.

That doesn’t mean you will have to drink without a lid, though.

To replace the straws, Starbucks introduced a new “cold-cup lid” that features a raised lip, much like a sippy cup. The lid, which is made of a recyclable plastic, has a teardrop-sized opening that’s about the size of a thumbprint, and it’s “less-ridged” than the coffee chain’s hot-cup lid, according to Starbucks.

And people sure did notice the sippy-cup resemblance.

“I got a sippy cup at Starbucks this morning … I swear I’m an adult,” one person posted to Twitter.

Not everyone loves the flashback to their childhood.

“Starbucks Im not dribbling COFFEE of all stains, on my clothes,” a Twitter user wrote.

“Honestly it’s gonna be weird to drink it as a sippy cup,” said another.

For those who still want a straw, Starbucks said it will offer straws made with an “alternative material,” like paper or compostable plastic, to those who prefer or need a straw. The alternative straws will also come with Frappuccino blended beverages.

This no-straw movement has spread rapidly in recent months while environmental groups work to prevent non-degradable straws from ending up in beaches and oceans, NBC News reported. Straw Free environmentalist group says 500 million plastic straws are thrown away every day in the U.S.

Starbucks estimates that it uses 1 billion plastic straws in its stores every year.

The coffee chain’s announcement came a week after its hometown of Seattle banned single-use plastic straws and utensils at businesses that sell food and drinks, the Associated Press reported.