On July 9, the coffee industry titan Starbucks became the latest company to raise its voice in the international movement to reduce plastic in the ocean. The number of single-use plastic straws used and discarded daily by the coffeehouse chain alone is in the millions.

The company is looking to change that by introducing strawless alternatives in select locations this coming Fall. International introduction of the strawless lid will take place in the following months and years. By the year 2020, Starbucks seeks to eliminate more than one billion plastic straws a year from its company-operated and licensed stores.

Starbucks hopes to replace the aged tradition of drinking beverages through a straw with the introduction of a new lid for cold drinks, similar to their current lid design for warm drinks. Many have likened this design as an "adult sippy cup". Vancouver will be one of the first US cities to see this new lid design. Seattle, the birthplace of the coffee mega-company, has already introduced a city-wide plastic straw ban, which took effect on July 1. New York City has a similar piece of legislation currently being proposed.

Starbucks is the largest beverage retailer to lend its voice to the growing outcry against plastic waste, and it hopes to set an example for smaller restaurants and retailers as well.

Starbucks is not the only major US brand name to announce its new environmentally-friendly plastic policy. Hyatt and American Airlines have both revealed plans to reduce their use of plastic straws globally. Though many popular American companies have yet to change their straw policies in the US, the loudest silence on the topic comes from McDonald's, as the company is the world's biggest plastic straw buyer.

The issue of plastic straws damaging the environment has recently come into the public spotlight after it was discovered that over eight metric tons (that's 16,000 lbs) of plastic waste enter the ocean every year. Corporations and celebrity spokespeople, such as Chelsea Clinton and Neil Degrasse Tyson, have come forward in addressing this issue, as well as sharing a viral Youtube video of a plastic straw being removed from the nostrils of a sea turtle, which has been viewed more than 30 million times.

While straws are hardly the most pressing issue in the topic of marine-life pollution, activists are hoping that this movement will act as a gateway into a future with fewer single-use plastic items and less mindless pollution.