The coffee chain, Starbucks, has angered environmental groups, after it was revealed that it had a policy of keeping a tap running non-stop at all its 10,000 outlets worldwide, wasting 23.4 million litres of water a day.
The chain, nevertheless, attempted to refute claims that it seriously wasted water. The company said that the policy of leaving "dipper wells" running meant the company exceeded their own and local health standards. It stressed that, "Dipper wells use a stream of continuous fresh-running water to rinse away food residue, help keep utensils clean and prevent bacterial growth."
A Starbucks spokeswoman added that the company was considering using dishwashers instead of dipper wells and introducing a more water-efficient way of cleaning spoons. Starbucks acknowledged that there are opportunities to reduce its water usage and that it had to balance water conservation with the need for customer safety.
However, environmental groups have described the policy of leaving a tap running for hygiene reasons as nonsensical. Peter Robinson of the environmental charity Waste Watch said, "Leaving taps running all day is a shocking waste of precious water and to claim you are doing it for health and safety reasons is bonkers."
