20260521 Greenwashing

21.05.2026 Greenwashing

Greenwashing

Recycling sounds good, but in practice it is still in its infancy — because the goal is to keep costs as low as possible. For example, in February 2026, Starbucks, in collaboration with the waste management company WM and three recycling associations, announced that their polypropylene cups had received a ”Widely Recyclable" designation.

The NGO Beyond Plastics placed a total of 53 Bluetooth trackers in Starbucks single-use cold drink cups between January and March 2026, according to Telepolis.de. They disposed of these in Starbucks’ in-store recycling bins at 35 Starbucks locations across nine U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. Telepolis reports on the test results: Of the 36 trackers that provided usable data, 16 ended up in landfills, nine in incinerators, and eight at waste transfer stations. Three did reach recycling centers, but according to the report, these facilities only sorted the waste and did not recycle it themselves.

That is why Telepolis is also calling for clear laws governing the circular economy; promises alone are not enough.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)