Starbucks 'wasting 23 million litres of water a day'

Starbucks 'wasting 23 million litres of water a day'

uk.news.yahoo.com

Starbucks has today been accused of wasting more than 23 million litres of water every day.

The coffee chain, which prides itself on being green, has a health and safety policy of leaving taps running in all of its 10,000 branches worldwide it has been revealed today.

Starbucks bosses claim that the flow of water stops germs from festering in the taps.

(visit the link for the full news article)

These are the people to blame..this is why our water is not fit to drink and costing us so much in bills.

This is what we need to stop..

Boycott Starbucks... kick them out of the highstreets...get rid of this insanity that infests these corporates. Bring back some sense of justice.

If this was in a court of law you may very well be charged with crimes against humanity...

As much as a corporation is seen as an individual, it should be charged and treated as such and stand accused and accept its responsibilities.

This is an outrage ... I am so angry at this.

Thousands die every day for lack of a cup of water and Starbucks throws it away in the name of 'health and safety'.

Utterly disgusting.


Edit to add;;

enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool every 83 minutes or sustain the population of drought-hit Namibia.

In the UK alone, where there are 698 branches open for 13 hours a day, it counts for around 1.63 million litres of water wasted.

It raises questions about the Seattle-based company's much-hyped environmental credentials and will embarrass its legion of celebrity patrons.

Water firms say the policy harms the environment, while hygiene experts dismissed the health and safety-motivated policy as "nonsense" and "bonkers".

www.telegraph.co.uk...
uk.news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 6-10-2008 by Extralien]

I can't stand Starbucks coffee. I drink Dunk'n Donuts or WAWA.

Actually - we all really should cut down on our coffee drinking.
It causes kidney stones. If you have ever had one or more
(I have!!) it's a VERY good incentive not to drink as much coffee.

I sure have cut back.

Originally posted by Extralien


These are the people to blame..this is why our water is not fit to drink and costing us so much in bills.

This is what we need to stop..

Boycott Starbucks... kick them out of the highstreets...get rid of this insanity that infests these corporates. Bring back some sense of justice.

If this was in a court of law you may very well be charged with crimes against humanity...

As much as a corporation is seen as an individual, it should be charged and treated as such and stand accused and accept its responsibilities.

This is an outrage ... I am so angry at this.

Thousands die every day for lack of a cup of water and Starbucks throws it away in the name of 'health and safety'.

Utterly disgusting.

uk.news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I agree with everything you've said. This really is obscene, I'm not sure how they can actually justify this even under health and safety.

This is gob-smacking it really is. Seriously, I very, very rarely have a coffee in any of the large chains, but I'll certainly not buy a drink from Starbucks again just on the basis of this.

Water wastage rather than usage is a serious problem in this country. That water companies get relative smacks on the wrist for the water they waste themselves is astonishing. Particularly given that I get a red reminder if my water bill is a week late.

I think the current economic situation will do enough of a hurting on Starbucks. I hate Starbucks coffee, cannot stand it. Nasty little tiny crappy tasting beans, make nasty tasting coffee.

I go to the small places, usually the coffee is quality, fair trade, and cheaper then starbucks.

Interesting, i put my hand up to being a big fan of Starbucks. This however isn't good at all. I have to say their excuse of making sure the water/pipes are clean can't be right, the water is boiled anyway so why should it make much of a difference?

FlyersFan, that doesn't sound nice at all, i wasn't aware coffee was responsible for kidney stones. I might switch to tea lol!

Originally posted by Extralien

These are the people to blame..this is why our water is not fit to drink and costing us so much in bills.

I am not sure I am getting this right. So I will answer your question 2 ways..

No this isnt why our water is not fit to drink.. Not because sb's runs thier water all the time.. Its because of all the crap that goes into the water..

You know the things that are good for you like chlorine, and fluoride and other crap that will kill a amphibian if you put it in the water we drink.. ya thats how safe it is for us to.. So you know..

And no our bill has nothing to do with them wasting money.. People waste as much money running water uselessly as they do.. They are not the only problem...

And no I hate thier coffee. it sucks, I am just pointing out flaws in your theory.

[edit on 10/6/2008 by ThichHeaded]

reply to post by Extralien


It seems strange to single out starbucks. I would be curious about just how much water is wasted making the poison that we call soda? I bet it is a lot more than what starbucks uses.

Originally posted by theblunttruth
FlyersFan, that doesn't sound nice at all, i wasn't aware coffee was responsible for kidney stones. I might switch to tea lol!

Coffee, tea, dark sodas ... they all can contribute to the kind of kidney stones most seen in Americans.

Stay away from tea and iced tea as well as the coffee.
Pepsi and coke as well.

Seriously. Once you've had a kidney stone ... YIKES!
It's the worst pain on the planet.
Bad enough to make one curse the day she was born.

reply to post by Karlhungis


Actually they don't.

They filter water as in cleaning it of contaminates and such then runs it thru machines to mix everything.. From there goes into bottles and cans.. After that its the peoples problems on how the stuff is delivered.

But its a real controlled setting.. That is why I drink tea all the time because the water has been treated prior to getting it.. you know for flavor sake..

reply to post by ThichHeaded


Thanks for your reply TH.

I'm not sure where you're from, but here in the UK the drinking water is recycled. If we let anyone get away with running water constantly then we have to spend more on recycling water that's just been drunk.

The constant flow of water reduces the natural water table and reserves and forces more recycling and more chemicals to be used.

That's why... I hope that clears things up a bit for you

It is kind of ironic though....

I believe Starbuck's practices were taken to reduce liability.

Starbucks is the first major corporation to acknowledge and address - through policy - that commercially available water running through the tap can, and does harbor potentially relevant substances and minerals that would affect the palatability and safety of the product they sell. Evidently so much so that it was more cost efficient to waste all that water than to filter it actively, or risk making a customer ill.

What does that say about the purity of the water supply, I wonder?

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by theblunttruth
FlyersFan, that doesn't sound nice at all, i wasn't aware coffee was responsible for kidney stones. I might switch to tea lol!

Coffee, tea, dark sodas ... they all can contribute to the kind of kidney stones most seen in Americans.

Stay away from tea and iced tea as well as the coffee.
Pepsi and coke as well.

Seriously. Once you've had a kidney stone ... YIKES!
It's the worst pain on the planet.
Bad enough to make one curse the day she was born.

I have suffered with kidney stones a lot over the years and eventually needed a stent fitted because the stones were doing damage to my 'tubes'. I was put on a low-oxalate diet which is a complete nightmare for a vegetarian, so I didn't really stick to it. Instead, I just upped the amount of water I drank. Touch wood, I've had no problems for 2 years now. Yes, the pain is excruciating.

Anyway, I'm wondering what the fall out from this might be as I'm not sure how Starbucks can 'win' with this. It's going to be difficult to address or justify this from a green point of view and if they actual redress this and stop using the dipper well, it looks like they're slackening-off with their 'health and safety'.

I never really understood the "wasted water" thing. It's not like once its been used it's gone. We're drinking water the dinosaurs drank. I could leave it running all day and it isnt going anywhere except back into the cycle of condensation and precipitation.

I would be inclined to think that undiluted meds building up in the water is a bigger problem than a running toilet or making a bunch of coffee but if Starbucks uses this much water than virtually every shop selling food or drinks uses just as much so why single out Starbucks?

Originally posted by ThichHeaded

And no our bill has nothing to do with them wasting money.. People waste as much money running water uselessly as they do.. They are not the only problem...

Well, they might not be the only problem - which is where you actually admit they are a problem - but they certainly contribute to water wastage and therefore pricing.

Whether water is wasted or actually consumed it is still water used in the sense that it's come from a tap somewhere in the system and provided by the water companies. That water has to come from somewhere - it's not like they have rain barrels beside the door - and that used/waste water then has to go somewhere - it's not like it's hosing some lawns or fields and going directly back into the water table.

These simple facts are among those on which water companies base the (extortionate) prices on. Of course it contributes to water bills.

[edit on 6-10-2008 by Merriman Weir]

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
I never really understood the "wasted water" thing.

In this case, it's wasted in the sense that it's not consumed. It's collected, treated, piped and then just practically poured back down the grid, where it's then collected, treated and piped back to the tap.

The same when you see burst mains pissing out water for days at a time.

Each of those 'collection/treatment/piped to the tap' cycles cost money.

Also, I'd have thought it was fairly obvious why Starbucks are being singled out. Not "every shop selling food or drinks uses just as much" because they don't have chains as big as Starbuck just having taps running non-stop through out the day.

[edit on 6-10-2008 by Merriman Weir]

I blame the litigiousness of American society. If they had no fear of being sued, they wouldn't commit to such a destructive policy.

After all, if McDonalds could be sued because some moron woman burnt herself on their coffee, Starbucks is right to be scared about being sued over any water borne infection that could be traced back to them.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
I never really understood the "wasted water" thing. It's not like once its been used it's gone. We're drinking water the dinosaurs drank.

The problem is time. It takes time for nature to recycle water. If you are taking more water than rain/the water table can sustain, then you will be short of water. It's as simple as that.

Thats ridiculous, they deserve major fines

If the 23 million litres a day estimate is correct, that means they waste 8,395,000,000 litres in a year

Originally posted by 44soulslayer
I blame the litigiousness of American society. If they had no fear of being sued, they wouldn't commit to such a destructive policy.

I quite agree. In itself, keeping the water running is not even that effective, considering that water is pretty much always BOILED when preparing the coffee, isn't it?