Toronto coffee shops ditch unrecyclable black coffee lids
Black plastic can’t be properly sorted at the recycling facilities and there is no market to sell it.

TheStar.com
April 23, 2018
Jaren Kerr

Black is going out of fashion at Toronto coffee shops, at least when it comes to the lids.

On Monday, Dark Horse Espresso, a Toronto-based cafe, decided to switch the colour of its coffee lids from black to red. The reason was more environmental than esthetic. Black plastics are considered unrecyclable in Toronto, and the City advises people to throw black plastic in the garbage. According to the City, black plastic can’t be properly sorted at the recycling facilities and there is no market to sell it.

“Black plastic is not recyclable, we will be switching all our shops to red this week,” Dark Horse Espresso tweeted.

“I had no idea that black plastic isn’t recyclable in Toronto,” Sarah Israel, a Toronto resident tweeted. “Now I am horrified thinking about all the black coffee lids and takeout containers I have rinsed and recycled thinking it was okay.”

Eva Bennett, a product manager, pondered why black plastics, also often used in food containers, are even allowed. “Why are black coffee cup lids even allowed if they’re not recyclable?” she tweeted.

Other coffee chains are ditching black lids as well. Balzac’s Coffee Roasters, which has stores across Ontario, are also moving to white lids. Second Cup is doing the same.

Chains such as Starbucks, Tim Hortons and McCafe, use non-black lids, which are recyclable.

“Toronto is one of the regions that does not recycle black plastic and because we are not able to confirm when this will change, we have made the decision to revert to our white lids,” said Vanda Provato, vice-president of marketing at Second Cup. “You should see the change in our cafés very soon.”

Black plastics have been phased out at companies in other jurisdictions. Waitrose, a U.K. grocery chain, announced that it would stop using black plastics earlier this year.