Starbucks under fire for wasting water with always-running taps

The water that Starbucks wastes with its a policy of keeping a tap running non-stop could fill an Olympic pool every 83 minutes. A single Starbucks tap left running for just over three minutes wastes the amount of water one African needs to survive for a day in drought conditions. "It is an absolutely astonishing waste of water, especially for a company which prides itself on its green credentials," says one customer. || Starbucks wastes millions of litres of water a day

Comments

[Herman M]

*sigh*

"Each Starbucks has a cold tap behind the counter that runs into a sink known as a "dipper well" - used to wash utensils.

Under the company's health and safety rules, staff are banned from turning the water off because management claim that a constant flow of water prevents germs breeding in taps.

Water companies joined green activists in criticising the firm for harming the environment and wasting a vital natural resource. Experts said leaving taps running for hygiene reasons was "nonsense"."

1) not our "health and safety rules". Those belong to the municipality.
2)Management does not "claim" this prefvents germ breeding. Science does. Still, room temperature water with milky spoons will cause gems to grow quickly.
3)Yes, it is nonsense. And I invite all the so called experts to come on in and I will gladly make them a latte with a spoon I have let sit in stale mikly water all day. Then I will laugh when I visit them in hospital.
4)The water utility agrees with the nutters because it would mean that musch less water they have to treat then process at the other end, not because they are altruistic, nor because if Starbucks stopped using that water they would be shipping it to the mentioned thirsty Africans.
5)And the same criticism for Ben & Jerrys and every other ice cream shop in the nation is located where?

This so reminds me of the time way back when when James Watt, then secretary of the interior said there was no difference in the health quality of air in a major city or in the forest. The president of the Sierra Club challenged him on it. He offered to tie himself in a tree for a month breathing the mountain air while James Watt was tied to the back bumper of a car to breathe the clean air there. ;-)

Let's attack the sanitation requirements of the developed world where food borne illness is the lowest. That makes perfect sense.

[Kate]

Yeah, or we could also use a new spoon each time we make a drink...

[xsbuxdm]

I saw that on Drudge this AM. It is poorly written...and doesn't explain the real use of the dipper wells.

Not really a whole lot of other options!!

[waltie]

I rinse all of my spoons and pitchers with bottles of Ethos water. Is that wrong?

[MrWho]

From the article: "In 2006, the Guardian reported how the US coffee giant has used its muscle to block an attempt by Ethiopia's farmers to copyright their most famous coffee bean types, denying them potential earnings of up to £47m a year.

As a result, Starbucks negotiated an agreement with the Ethiopian government to give the country more ownership and a better price for its coffee beans."

Oh, I see. The Guardian's report made Starbucks work fairly with Ethiopia. If it weren't for the glorious Guardian, Ethiopia would have nothing. PRAISE THE GUARDIAN!

The article wasn't talking about buildup in the WELL - the article attacks starbucks for saying the running water prevents germ buildup in the PIPES

[Me]

This is a very good example how to create negatvie publicity out of nothing. Just write a very vague piece with no detailed or (gasp) researched information, slam a big company in it and you have an audience. sigh.

There are really a lot of things wrong with starbucks, but the dipping well isn't. Oh and I highly doubt it will be 3 liters a minute if you don't crank it up.

On another note. The idea of collecting, treating and reusing the water (not just from the well but also the dishwater etc.) sounds interesting. Would that work in a safe way which wouldn't double our prices? Does anyone know?

[Me]

Well, whoever said the piece about the pipes was either stupid or maybe the journalist was and misunderstood him.

[Rachel]

Actually, as a partner for three years, this is my biggest bone of contention with my job. At one store I've worked at it was impossible to even turn it off at all, and it got left on all night. Even if the flow of water was cut in half, so there would still be fresh water to rinse the spoons, it would help a lot. There could be a standard similar to metal syrup pumps where they dose a specific amount, water flow should fill a 1L pitcher in a specific amount of time.

[Tim]

Slow news day... and Herman M couldn't have said it any better.

Just someone who wants to get their name out by writing about a big company. Go to any ice cream or smoothie shop and youll see the same exact dipper well, constantly running.

Well, I can't argue with teh journalist that they have a point with alll that running water. I mean think about how many starbucks stores there are, and then about all the hours all those stroes are open...and all that wasted water. OUCH!

But, the journalist did seem a little iffy - they start off talking about the TAP (faucet/pipes) being the issue with germ build-up:

Under the company's health and safety rules, staff are banned from turning the water off because management claim that a constant flow of water prevents germs breeding in taps.
Jacob Tompkins, of the independent water efficiency agency Water Wise, said: "…The chance of a build-up in the spout is extremely remote. And if there is one they're not cleaning the tap properly."

But then they discuss alternate methods instead of a well...

I love how it's supposedly a "discovery" that Starbucks wastes water. Took them long enough...

What's next? "Starbucks throws out unused milk from steaming pitchers"?

[Me]

Wait a second here, isn't starbucks that company that drains down old stale coffee as well? Maybe they should recycle it by selling it to corner stores, along with the unused milk.

And the biggest issue yet, they actually charge customers for products and service. Why did nobody write a piece about that?

*sarcasm off*

One can really wonder how companies get slammed for doing what health code requirements are asking for. Can you imagine what the news would be if they turned on the well only five minutes every hour or so?

And I take a company with tiny steps toward doing good and wasting less over one that doesn't care at all. Is starbucks perfect? Hell, NO. Could they do more? ABSOLUTELY. But if they get hammered by the media anyways, why wasting all this money and effort to do the little good they do.

After all they are a company trying to earn money. And last time I checked this wasn't illegal.

Of course the environmental topic could be one the customers really buy into and it could turn out to be good to invest in even more innovative approaches. We could once again try to be an industry leader.
In the long rund that money might be well invested. Unfortunately publicly traded companies can't afford to plan for the long run, they have to publish quaterly results and please the short term investor.

[Me]

... In the long "run" of course, not "rund". I'm a little tired

[Stacy]

While I'm not gung-ho about my job like I used to be, this is a ridiculous article. Starbucks deserves to be slammed for a number of things, but this isn't it. There is no news in this article.

I worked for Baskin Robbins for 4 years before I started with Starbucks. Never once did I ever hear of a journalist or anyone else complain about the constant running water in dipper wells.

First off, water cannot be wasted there is the same amount of water in the world now as there was billions of years ago.

And secondly, if Starbucks is willing to pay for the wasted water, they are welcome to do what they want with it.

And the running water isn't for the sake of germs in pipes, it is to prevent bacteria growing in stagnate bacteria.

Starbucks "muscled" Ethiopian coffee growers because they do not want to endorse substandard coffee even if it is from Ethiopia. And also the Ethiopian government is fascist and absurdly extorts money from their people, namely on their number one export: coffee.

[truth]

That's funny... Nowhere in the King County Food Handler certification program is there ANY recommendation of running water as a reasonable means to prevent pathogens.

Maybe some of our friends on First Avenue should walk down the street and take the 4-hour class. They'd learn a lot, I suspect.

[Pat Nerr]

"Starbucks "muscled" Ethiopian coffee growers because they do not want to endorse substandard coffee even if it is from Ethiopia. And also the Ethiopian government is fascist and absurdly extorts money from their people, namely on their number one export: coffee."

Starbucks muscled nobody... they ended up giving up and signing the damned agreement because they realized they were in a school yard fight with a gang of machine-gun wielding thugs and all they came to the fight with was a pixie stick... and a single leg to stand on.

[hs]

we use spoons when we make drinks?

[ash_sk8s]

HS -

Well, yes. You use the big spoons to either hold back foam, or sometimes to scoop foam onto a drink. You use the little spoon to stir drinks...

[givemeabreak]

The ONLY thing "green" about Starbucks is their aprons. Each store throws out more plastic every day than any other retailer, MOST stores have NO recycling(cardboard/plastic/bottles)program in place. They claim that they provide "grounds for your garden". However, roughly 8 of every 10 stores do not support this program. When I ask for grinds, the staff views this as a burden, and this is not just one store.. Every store that I have ever been in runs the water constantly and leaves it running to rinse blenders, steaming pitchers, brewing baskets and the list goes on.

[javajane]

I'm kinda curious as to why no one's mentioned the new scheduling system yet on here. Is is working or is it really an attempt by the company to lower benefits for part timers?

[Christin]

Javajane:

In regards to the scheduling, I have been using the new system and it has done two things: 1) helped me devote LESS time to making a more efficient schedule and 2) give partners who have beneifits MORE hours and partners who don't 'need' the hours less. It has nothing to do with lowering beneifts.

As for this whole water thing, it's rediculous! Water is never wasted, it goes right back into the system. There are dozens more chains that have a similar system. If this is the biggest gripe people can pick on starbucks for it's a good day indeed.

[Coffee Soldier]

My dentist has a little sink that water constantly runs on where I spit...I better stop going to the dentist in protest!

Also maybe we could just bottle the water draining from the dipping well and give it a craft name like Sohte and ship it to 3rd world countries. I know if I were living in poverty I'd rather have somewhat used water then no water at all!

It doesn't matter if the water is running wide open all day long.
Starbucks pays the bill. The used water goes to a treatment plant where it is cleaned up and then usually pumped into a river-even sewer water, once treated, eventually returns to a river, an aquifer or evaporates and returns to earth as rain, snow, ice, or hail.

[badgerista]

The chain of ignorance in this story is astonishing to me. A customer (who doesn't know) asks a barista (ditto). The customer tells a reporter, who asks a couple of guys who work for environmental organizations (not, I might add, health experts or foodservice consultants), who say, "Uhhh, I don't get it! It doesn't make sense! Therefore, it must be stupid and a waste."
Voilà! Story!

[recyclotron]

Dipping wells? Bah. The problem in Africa, etc, is a lack of effective treatment facilities and transportation for safe water. The fact that the US and other developed nations have effective facilities has no bearing on whether or not Africa gets safe water.

What DOES concern me is the volume of garbage that SBUX generates, particularly otherwise recyclable garbage.

The SBUX nearest me recycles nothing but corrugated cardboard. They throw out all plastic, asceptic, and glass. They do "grounds for garden," but only about 20% of the grounds are picked up, the rest are thrown away. They also throw away all expired pastry items rather than composting them.

[RMC]

Ah, but we're not allowed to recycle pastries, HQ are very specific and very stringent about that.
A DM in a district near mine caught Baristas and SS's taking pastries out the store without paying for them (after a close, at like 11pm) and fired them all the next day.
It's internal theft, and HQ don't authorise it.

[Herman M]

Same amount of water as billions of years ago? Well...no, not really. There is likely less. But that is another story for another site.

A perfect example of a planet losing water is Mars where there was water, but as the atmosphere was lost either through natural processes or a massive impact, the water evaporated into the vacuum of space. But that is yet another story for yet another site. ;-)

[Jennifer]

I find it interesting that they didn't mention any of the other companies that use the exact same practice. It is required in many areas. I worked for another company in California and we were forced to spend a lot of money to actually put one of these things in because they passed a health code that required it. I'm sure if we weren't doing it, they'd be complaining because we were using a dirty spoon. I guess we shouldn't rinse shot glasses either. How about if we just have everyone that doesn't drink all of their free water, dump it in a bucket at the door so that we can reuse that too? And god forbid, don't flush the toilets. You know how much water that uses!

[The ASM]

This is ridiculous!

[SeaSideBarista]

Wow! I'm amazed, although not surprised to hear about recycling @ Starbucks! Most city's have by-laws requiring most of the plastics/cardboard/bottles/plastics to be recycled while others don't. I don't blame Starbucks for that, but I can see the water being an issue! A couple summers ago there was a video on Starbucks Broadcast news round about the time of summer phase 1 launch, it took into account the amount of water used by Starbucks... I would get a copy from your DM and share it at your next partner meeting! Water should ALWAYS be turned off when not in use, I don't think I've ever worked at a Starbucks with a long time running sink, no matter what the issue was.. besides the dipper well! But even then, as a customer I would rather see the barista dipping their spoon into a dipper well than a batch of sanitizer. Sheesh! Save the fish.. turn off the taps!

[Chauncey]

Tell those Africans to get their burtts over to Starbucks and get that water!

[EC barista]

Coldstone runs water continuously to rinse their scoops. I'm sure other ice cream places do as well.

And other coffee shops probably do too.

And I'm sure millions of Americans keep there faucets running while brushing their teeth. And they probably shower longer than they need to.

Not to mention all of those fancy front lawns that have built in irrigation systems.

Good thing water is a renewable resource!

[Coffeetech]

I just want to meet anyone who could survive on the small amount of water dispensed in 3 minutes time from those dipper well faucets. I should know I have worked on them. They have a water restriction plate installed in them to minimize water use.
Someone is just upset for being let go, or customer who didn't get their drink fast enough to please them.
Please! Grow up!

[Starbucks should recycle]

The dip wells are not the problem. The problem is running the taps to rinse frap pitchers and for dumping coffee (ps I KNOW that some of the techs tell us to in order to save the pipes!)
The problem is also not recycling plastics, like milk jugs, and glass, and cardboard, and the steel from the whip chargers!!!!
Most of these things can be turned into money at a recycling station even if Starbucks is too lazy to provide recycling!
( pps. yes I understand the explanation about Starbucks not owning the buildings and therefor not being able to recycle. Private companies can be hire in MOST cities to come pick it up!!!)

[Tracy]

Green Company?? HAHA this makes me laugh...running water all the time, retail orders that come in 82 separate cardboard boxes...sometimes a 3foot by 2foot box for a measly bag of sugar, constant printing of papers needed from the back room--tons and tons of paper used for DMS to hand out communications at district meetings--tons of wasted food everyday because let's face it what homeless shelter truly needs 6 apple fritters to give people a nutritious offering? the amount of garbage we produce daily is absolutely appalling and some sights don't offer recycling in which case it's the manager's duty to deal with that in addition to running the store. Green company? far from it....

[Denise]

We are in a drought in California and seriously we can't waste water. Sadly, Starbucks does as do places that serve ice cream. Perhaps it is a dairy issue. I also serve dairy products at my house. We was our spoons rather than use the same on over and over without being properly cleaned. I think Starbucks could do that too. We need water to sustain life.

[Denise]

Grrr I meant, "We use our spoons rather than use the same one over and over without being properly cleaned."

[12yrpartner]

Regarding gimme a break's comments. Perhaps you have only visited Starbucks in the States. In canada we recycle Hard plastic, soft plastic, metal ( like the coffee bags) milk cartons, cardboard, paper, bottles etc. We will gladly give you some grinds if you request them though at my store we don't have them ready for you as the bin empties tooo fast and seems to turn into a garbage can...I have seen this mentioned on sites before and I don't know why the recycling is not the same. Anyone have an answer?

[Darleen]

12yrpartner,
I believe someone already answered your question. Some places where Starbucks leases do not have recycle bins, I know mine didn't. We had a partner that would take the milk jugs home with her and dump them at her recycle bin. Also, for Gimmeabreak, you could always get a business card from your local sbux and call them in the am and ask them to save you some grounds and you'll be by later to pick them up. See how easy things can be fixed? Those grounds for your garden tubs were always used as trash cans, so we just started doing it to order, if you wanted grounds you'd let us know you'd be by and we'd have a nice bag waiting for you when you got there.

[Dawn Pinaud]

It is ridiculous to blame Starbucks for the dipper well water use in their stores. If you understand most cities Health Dept codes you would also know it is mandatory in all coffee & ice cream stores these days. Go after the Health Dept and see how far you get! Dawn

[Anonymous]

Really? Is water really a resource that can be wasted? There is something called an ocean with LOTS of water in it. The water from the oceans evaporates leaving behind all the impurities and eventually fresh water rains back down to earth. It's a natural distillation process.

Trust me, I don't think the world is going to run out of water anytime soon!

[KJ]

Starbucks STILL has their taps on all the time at:

How can anyone let this insane practice continue?

10900 Research Blvd
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 342-2737

[Jess Wormall]

Just thought that I'd bring it to everyones attention that the issue isn't with water being a non renewable resource.
The companies which filter, process and send the water through our pipes everyday are doing this with gas and electricity, they are also hiring staff to do these jobs. The more water needed, the more electricity and man power used. This is why it's not environmentally friendly and it also leads to a higher cost of water bills for the rest of us.
I do agree that Starbucks should not have been the only firm to be attacked but hey, whats the scandal about your local smoothie shop leaving its tap on? That wouldn't sell front page tabloid papers...