Even in Seattle, teaching people how to throw stuff away takes time

[elfs]

Apparently, even in oh-so-correct Seattle, people take a while to figure out how to throw stuff away. The local Starbucks has undergone Howard Schultz's latest brainfart redesign (take out the ten foot display? Really, Howard? How did telling us what we were listening to distract us from buying your coffee?) and they've put in two different trash receptacles, one clearly labeled "garbarge" and the other "recycling." People are still throwing food-waste and used napkins in the recycling bin.

This is just as bad as Tully's, a local competing brand (the one not owned by Starbucks; Seattle's Best Coffee was bought in Starbuck's massive acquisition spree in 2006, along with Terrafazione). They have three receptacles: garbage, compostable, and recycling. People almost get it right-- the cups say "Compostable" right on the sides. But they always include the plastic lid.

I figure eventually people will figure it out. Pity the poor employee who has to deal with it until then.

Comments

[davidlevine]

The big problem with recycling (at home as well as in retail contexts like this) is that there's no feedback. If you throw something in the wrong bin you will most likely never even know it.

[rick-bannerman.livejournal.com]

Yesterday in White Horse, Yukon, I got a cup from a small ma & pa coffee nook and the "plastic" lids were compostable too.

[bldrnrpdx.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, most of the "compostable" stuff isn't very. I imagine a place like Starbucks has access to the commercial composting facilities, so the stuff probably does break down, but it adds zero nutrients to the compost- in essence, it's compost junk food. Worse yet, it leads the general public to think that they can throw those same 'compostable plastics' and paper products in their backyard compost piles - where it will never heat up enough to break down.