Page 26 - Plastics News July 2018

CompAny news

Starbucks to ditch plastic straws EC investigates sale of Solvay’s

nylon unit to BASF
he global coffee giant Starbucks announced that they
Twill eliminate all plastic straws and replace them with
"adult sippy cup" lids. Starbucks estimates this change will he European Commission has opened an in-depth
help to eliminate more than 1 billion plastic straws globally Tinvestigation into the sale of Solvay’s nylon
per year, most of which ends up in landfills and the ocean. business to BASF on the grounds that it could reduce
While the change won't fully take effect until 2020, you competition. The two firms agreed to the $1.9 billion
may have noticed the sippy cup lid on a few Starbucks sale in September 2017. If completed it will make BASF
cold beverages, including their draft nitro coffee. This almost twice as large as the next biggest European
comes on the heel of a recent plastic straw ban in Seattle producer of nylon compounds and the only one with
(Starbucks' headquarters) earlier this month. At Starbucks, assets at all levels of the production chain. The EC has
until Oct. 31 to conclude its investigation. The EU's
executive body said that it was “concerned that the
merger may reduce competition in the supply of key
inputs" in the European nylon production chain.It added
that it was particularly concerned the transaction could
lead to higher prices due to the increased market power
of the merged entity.BASF announced in September
2017 it was aiming to acquire the Belgian chemical
executives said the efforts are part of a $10 million plan major’s integrated polyamide business for €1.6bn, and
to develop cups and lids that are fully recyclable and was aiming to close the transaction in the third quarter
compostable. Stores in Seattle and Vancouver will be the of this year.
first to begin using the new strawless lids - essentially a According to the Commission, the resulting entity
top with a built-in lip for easy drinking - which will be post-transaction would have a market size "almost
used for iced coffee, tea and espresso drinks beginning double" that of the closest competitor, as well as
in the fall. Ice-blended Frappuccinos, meanwhile, will be control substantial parts of the merchant markets and
served with straws made of paper or compostable plastic. of the production capacities at all levels of the nylon
The company also offers a 10-cent discount to customers production chain."Moreover, no other player would
who bring in their own cups. be similarly fully integrated in the production chain.
Starbucks declined to comment on the financial impact
of replacing plastic straws, which have become widely
used in restaurants in part because they are so cheap.
(Starbucks now charges a 5-pence paper cup fee in its
U.K. stores, though it was unclear whether the company
would add similar surcharges in the United States.) The
no-straw movement, which had already been brewing in
certain communities and beach towns, gained mainstream
traction three years ago after a video showing a sea turtle
with a plastic straw wedged in its nose went viral. Plastic
straws never completely decompose and can be harmful, Competitors will thus depend on the merged entity to
even fatal, to animals that ingest them.Plastic straws, like continue to supply them with one or more essential
the ones used at Starbucks, have fallen out of favor lately inputs," it said. "In addition, there is no indication that
as they are rarely recycled. Starbucks plastic straws are competition could be preserved by new entrants, since
recyclable. However, given their size and light weight they access to essential inputs (such as ADN [adiponitrile, a
are often mechanically sorted out during the recycling feedstock for nylon production]) is limited and critical
process and end up in landfills and waterways. to be able to compete effectively."

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