An eight-week pilot was conducted at seven Starbucks stores in Manhattan. For the pilot, Western Michigan University’s Coating and Recycling Pilot Plants tested the recyclability of a representative sample of the cups and sleeved used in Starbucks stores and found that they offer equivalent recyclability and reliability as old corrugated cardboard using the Fibre Box Association's Wax Alternative Protocol. The material collected from the store had a purity level greater than 80% was achieved and strategies for achieving a 90% purity identified.

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Global Green’s Coalition for Resource Recovery, convened 80 participants for a “value chain caucus” aimed at diverting prepared food packaging from the nation’s landfills. The Manhattan meeting followed a Recyclable Cup Summit arranged by Starbucks at their Seattle headquarters in May. Starbucks’ Jim Hanna announced that a first trial will ask customers to assist by pre-sorting their cups.