Starbucks Runs Taps All Day

Starbucks has defended itself against claims of a serious waste of water by leaving taps running in its stores all day.

A spokeswoman said the purpose was to clean utensils and the policy meant the company met health standards.

But environmental groups have criticized the practice, accusing Starbucks of wasting millions of litres of water every day.

Read the full story here.

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Comments

[mouselion]

Starbucks workers turn off taps

http://www.greenbang.com/5641/starbucks-workers-defy-management-to-turn-off-taps/

[Suzanne1]

I am stunned to realize too, that Starbucks does not recycle! Of all places that I thought would...I was in a LaJolla location and asked where to toss an empty water bottle for recycling and was told by staff that regrettably they don't recycle. Since then, I've looked around for recycling at other Starbucks nationwide and it seems to be the case all over.
C'mon, Starbucks, be better than that!

[paulbikes]

Whether the water is filtered and recycled (i hope it is) or not. I still despise starbucks.

[Tamoomoo]

This is interesting, as I used to work at Starbucks. I always assumed that the water from these little sinks was constantly filtered and circulated, and was not drained out. Their filtration method for the faucets in all the other sinks (bathroom included) are pretty high tech, I would be shocked if they discarded all that water and didn't recycle it.

[mlaiuppa]

I asked posters at a few boards I frequent if they had noticed this.

One said he had and asked and was told by Starbucks that the water is filtered and recycled. Of course, they may have been just telling him what he wanted to hear.

I think it bears further reporting given The Sun is equivalent to The Enquirer and sometimes the reporting is a bit....shoddy.

[LiberalBuzz]

Water run constantly does a lot of harm. Its not just whether you pay your bills or not.

They could just as easily put in a foot starter like hospitals use. Press with your foot, have the water run to clean, that way you don't have to use your hands to turn it on and off if that is a concern.

As for the harm, it's simple, It reduces the water that is available especially in areas where water is of a great concern, particularly here in the Southwest.

I've written to Basken Robbins stating the same problem. I didn't know Starbucks did it as well since I don't drink coffee. BUT I'm gonna write 'em. It's easy to do, just take 2 minutes out of your day and send them an email.

Water that is run does not all get recovered by any means. There is a significant lost through a variety of mean, most particularly through evaporation. We can't afford that sort of waste, small or large.

It's wasting water and it's losing water.

[JScott]

Why single them out-Baskin Robbins 31 flavors does it too.

[Tom95134]

Many food service businesses have small overflow type sinks where water runs constantly. It's the one way that they can meet sanitary standards when you use a spoon and then put it in a sink. It is actually more environmentally conscious than running a batch of spoons through a dishwasher where you have to heat a lot more water to high temperatures.

[RightWingMarine]

Since Starbucks presumably pays their water bill how is it anyone elses business what they do with their water? If someone doesn't approve of what Starbucks is doing they can shop elsewhere. Once the water is used it isn't gone, it's still here it just needs to be cleaned again before it can be reserved. There is no loss.

Lastly how pointless is it to complain that Starbucks is wasting water and the only solution offered is that there must be some other way?

[KillTheMessenger]

It was not clear to me that Marines are now also specialists on waste water recycling. But what do I know...

:-)

[RightWingMarine]

I didn't claim to be a specialist but a moments thought will show that I am right. There is as much water on the planet today as there was 100 years ago 1000 years ago or 10,000 years ago. It hasn't been siphoned off by some alien beings. Some of the water isn't fit to drink and to clean it would be quite difficult, I'm willing to bet that the coffee Starbucks uses isn't that detrimental to the environment.

You also missed my point. If Starbucks owns the water (and since they pay their bill, they do) why shouldn't they use their water in whatever manner they see fit?