Water Education Foundation
This is just one post in the General Water Issues Category
Click here to view all posts

Starbucks lands in hot water over dipper well system; now testing alternatives

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 11, 2008 at 7:33 am

From the Seattle P-I:

Starbucks Corp. is hastily testing alternative ways to disinfect the spoons it uses to prepare drinks, after a British tabloid on Monday accused the coffee company of wasting 6.2 million gallons of water per day.

The Sun’s investigation, titled “The great drain robbery,” has generated disgust at Starbucks from environmentalists around the world. Besides wasting tons of water while some places suffer droughts, the practice also appears to contradict Starbucks’ boasted commitment to environmental responsibility. “The giant coffee chain has a policy of keeping a tap running non-stop at all its 10,000 outlets worldwide, wasting 23.4 million litres a day,” The Sun reported. “That would provide enough daily water for the entire 2 million-strong population of drought-hit Namibia in Africa or fill an Olympic pool every 83 minutes.”

(Starbucks actually had 16,548 stores as of its last quarterly income statement. The company would not confirm whether The Sun’s water estimates were correct.)

Ironically, Starbucks owns Ethos Water, a bottled water brand that donates a portion of its revenue toward helping children have access to clean water and raising awareness of a worldwide water crisis.

The Sun article did not appear to consider in its calculations that Starbucks baristas also pour out coffee every 30 minutes to keep a fresh brew ready for customers. Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz once said, “We’ll be pouring out more coffee than most people serve.”

Starbucks is now testing alternatives to the dipper well system. Find out more from the Seattle P-I by clicking here.

You can sign a petition asking Starbucks to turn off its dipper well system by clicking here.

October 11, 2008 · Filed Under General Water Issues

Comments

Leave a Reply