Global coffee giant Starbucks will eliminate all plastic straws from its 28,000 stores by 2020, becoming the latest corporate giant to take steps to combat pollution from disposable plastic.
After months of tests, many of them carried out in Britain, the firm announced the news on Twitter.
The plastic straws will be replaced by recyclable lids that have a small raised opening allowing consumers to sip their drink.
Numerous advocacy groups, including Ocean Conservancy, welcomed the move. Several European countries and cities in the United States are mulling restrictions on the use of plastic straws, although outright bans are still rare. In the US, Seattle - hometown of Starbucks - is the only major city to have so far banned the use of plastic straws in its eateries.
