Starbucks Water Woes

Is your Venti Mocha killing people in Africa?  Well, not exactly, but The Sun reports that the water wasted daily by the coffee giant would suffice the needs of two-million African people every day.

The U.K. based newspaper revealed that the coffee franchise has a policy of keeping a water tap running non-stop at each of its 10,000 worldwide locations. That amounts to 23.4 million liters or 6,181,626 gallons of water wasted each day. The paper claims this is equal to the daily water requirements for the entire country of Namibia, or enough to fill an Olympic sized pool every 83 minutes.

Starbucks management claims that by running the taps constantly there is a reducing chance of germs breeding in the pipes. Many experts have dismissed the germ claims, calling them “nonsense.”

Environmental groups have also chimed in by highlighting the scarcity of water, and the droughts in many parts of the world that has been the cause of an untold number of deaths.

And how about the Gelman Library Starbucks, 1957 E location, and those nearby 22nd and K location? At every one the tap to the “dipper well”, where spoons and utensils are washed, has a constantly running tap.

-Jesse Regis