Starbucks Korea, which operates approximately 2,000 stores, introduced bioplastic straws made from sugarcane in many of its stores on June 25, 2025. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)

Around 200 Starbucks stores in South Korea are testing out plant-based plastic straws after customers complained about the durability of the coffee chain’s paper straws.

Starbucks Korea, which operates approximately 2,000 stores, on Wednesday introduced bioplastic straws made from sugarcane, a company spokeswoman said by phone Thursday.

The company received complaints — many of them from customers at branches in hospitals and family housing districts — about the durability of the paper straws, prompting Starbucks to explore other materials, the spokeswoman said.

South Korea’s Ministry of Environment since 2022 has prohibited stores and restaurants from providing customers with plastic straws. The ministry also banned coffee stirrers and single-use cups made from plastic.

The new straws will be available in approximately 200 locations in South Korea, many of them near hospitals in Seoul, such as the Korea University Anam Hospital and the Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, the spokeswoman said. Paper straws will also be available, she added.

Spokespeople for South Korean businesses customarily speak to the media on condition of anonymity.

The chain phased out its plastic straws in 2018 as part of an initiative to reduce the amount of plastic waste.

Starbucks also introduced biodegradable straws to its stores in Japan in December. Microorganisms in sea water and soil degrade those straws naturally into carbon dioxide and water, lessening the amount of plastic polluting the ocean, according to a company news release at the time.

Around 19 to 20 million tons of plastic waste leaks into lakes, rivers and seas annually, and only 9% of the plastic produced globally is recycled, according to the U.N. Environment Programme’s website.