(CNN) — Next time you order an iced coffee Starbucks It may not seem like much, but there is actually a big change.

The chain announced this Thursday that all sizes of its soft drinks are undergoing a redesign of plastic cups, which uses 20% less plastic compared to the current version to help the environment. The redesign is the company's latest effort to reduce the environmental impact of its cups, which have been criticized for piling up waste.

The new cups were created at Starbucks as part of its sustainability efforts to halve its waste and carbon emissions by 2030. Like other big companies, the chain wants to reduce its reliance on plastic because the material is primarily made from synthetic polymers. with Dangerous fossil fuels.

The new cups will debut in select US and Canadian locations this year, with full rollout expected to be completed by spring 2025.

In addition to using less plastic for the cups — Starbucks projects the new cups will save 6,100 tons (13.5 million pounds) of plastic from the earth annually. Chain said.

Starbucks said it conducted tests with baristas and customers to ensure the change would not reduce the strength of the cups or their ability to keep drinks cold.

Added new black and white “filler lines”. Credit: Courtesy of Connor Surdy/Starbucks.

Minor design tweaks include the addition of new accessibility features, including black and white “fill lines” that allow for contrast with light and dark colored drinks.

Another change is that the tall, grand and Wendy glasses, the three sizes offered by the company, now use the same size lid. Previously, the tall glass used its own lid and the Grande and Venti shared one.

For employees, this will reduce clutter and save time in finding the right hat. Starbucks also said it added raised lettering to the bottom of the cup so “baristas can quickly confirm which size they're holding in a rush when all the cups are stacked upside down.”

Starbucks notes that its largest size, the 31 oz (900 ml) Trenta, will continue to use a different lid size.

Fight for consistency

Cups (and the waste they generate) have long been a big problem for Starbucks.

In January, the chain expanded the way customers can fill their drinks from their glasses by adding drive-thru and app ordering.

Another sustainable idea that Starbucks has tried is a Glass loanIn this, customers pay a deposit for durable glasses that they carry with them and return them after use.

In 2021, a test location in Seattle required customers to pay a $1 deposit and return a recyclable cup to an in-store smart bin to get their dollar back. The company has already tested similar pilot programs in Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

However, these tests and changes are not enough to solve the “plastic crisis”, says Emma Priestland, global corporate campaign co-ordinator. Get rid of plastic.

“While the world urgently needs to reduce plastic production for the sake of the environment, from the perspective of waste management and the amount of plastic pollution entering the environment, reducing the amount of plastic products and maintaining the same amount of plastic products is not a matter of real solution,” he told CNN.

Priestland suggests that creating reusable and returnable cups would help Starbucks fully achieve their sustainability goals.