A TikToker is raising eyebrows with a video of the incredible waste she uncovered when a local Starbucks location closed.
Starbucks has been trying for a greener image with recent programs that allow buyers to bring a reusable cup or take home used coffee grounds for compost. However, the company has also been called out for wasteful policies and practices.
In this video from June, TikToker Anna Sacks (@thetrashwalker) demonstrates how the store can keep wasting food and single-use items even when it's gone.
"So this used to be a Starbucks on the Upper West Side," Sacks says in the video, showing a closed storefront with covered windows. "My Spidey trash senses were tingling."
Sacks then shows the huge pile of garbage bags stacked outside the location containing unused supplies from the store: piles of paper and plastic cups, wooden stirrers, tea bags, and of course, a huge bag of coffee beans.
@thetrashwalker Starbucks store closing #nyc #donate #donatedontdump #dumpsterdiving #haul #food #shopping #recycle #climatechange #reuse #foodie #starbucks #free #zerowaste #eco #sustainable #ecofriendly #coffee ♬ Healing, sleep and meditation-Reiki - Red Blue Studio
Sacks laughs while running her fingers through the beans. "It is deep, wow," she says, while burying her hand to the wrist.
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Sacks fills bags with coffee and loads up on individually-wrapped food items like Kind bars, croissants, and servings of eggs, which she says are still cold and won't expire for months.
"Leaving all the meat," says the vegetarian TikToker, but adds that she'll let her friends know it's there.
At home, Sacks loads her prizes into glass jars.
"There's a church across from the Starbucks, and they probably would have taken everything," she says. "Starbucks needs to recognize that when they close stores, this wastefulness is not acceptable."
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Commenters were just as upset as Sacks.
"This is shocking," said one user. "Couldn't another Starbucks store that's like probably three blocks away use those cups and stuff?"
Several other users tagged Starbucks's TikTok account for an answer.
Another user said, "Used to work at a Starbucks. We would toss SO MUCH food in the trash at the end of the day. I would take as much as I could home because it was insane."
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