Starbucks Corp. is pledging millions of dollars, and partnering with a well-known recycling organization, to try to solve its cup problem.

The coffee giant has come under scrutiny in recent years over the recyclability of its paper cups that are lined with polyethylene. The company also serves cold drinks in plastic cups.

But the company announced March 20 that it will commit $10 million to the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners to find “a global end-to-end solution that would allow cups around the world to be diverted from landfills.”

Called the NextGen Cup Challenge, the effort aims to recycle the cups into “anything that can use recycled material” including other cups, or napkins “or even a chair,” for example, the company said.

“No one is satisfied with the incremental industry progress made to date, it’s just not moving fast enough. So today, we are declaring a moon shot for sustainability to work together as an industry to bring a fully recyclable and compostable cup to the market, with a three-year ambition,” said Colleen Chapman, vice president of Starbucks global social impact overseeing sustainability, in a statement.

Word of the NextGen Cup Challenge comes the day before shareholders at the company are scheduled to hold their annual meeting. It’s at that session where they will vote on a proposal calling for the company to take action on its use of plastics.

“Through this partnership, the Challenge will enable leading innovators and entrepreneurs with financial, technical, and expert resources to fast-track global solutions, help get those solutions to shelf, through the recovery system and back into the supply chain” said Rob Kaplan, managing director of Closed Loop Partners, in a statement.




Starbucks, meanwhile, also said the company is currently working on a new “bio-liner” made from plant-based materials for the company’s paper cups.

While some municipalities can handle the plastics-lined cups, Foodservice Packaging Institute President Lynn Dyer said there are challenges.

“The truth is no cup is recyclable until it is widely accepted by communities, recycling facilities and paper mills,” Dyer said in a statement.

“Starbucks today agreed to solve its 4 billion disposable cups per year problem, putting it on the right side of history for forests and climate — we think. This is the third such commitment Starbucks has made — and if they follow through, it will change the impact of its cups and the worldwide cup market,” said Todd Paglia, executive director of an environmental group called Stand.earth.

That group said it still needed more information.

The “Starbucks: Break Free from Plastic” campaign organized by environmental groups and initially aimed at Starbucks seeks a 100 percent recyclable paper cup without a plastic lining. It also wants the company to stop using single use plastics, including straws. Starbucks also is being called on to publicly report the amount and types of plastics used in packaging.

As You Sow, a foundation that promotes corporate social responsibility, has a shareholder resolution before corporate voters at the company’s annual meeting March 21 that, in part, calls for the discontinuation of plastic straws.

Actor Adrian Grenier, known best for his work on HBO series “Entourage,” is slated to present the resolution.