Starbucks, Spinelli plan to continue system till alternative is found
Amelia Tan, Straits Times 9 Oct 08;
OFFICERS from the national water agency PUB yesterday inspected several outlets of two coffee chains - Starbucks and Spinelli - that use a controversial system of using continuously running water to clean utensils.
Officers asked staff about the cleaning technique, which came under fire from environmentalists around the world earlier this week for wasting water. Starbucks, in particular, was heavily criticised for employing it, despite projecting itself as a green company.
During yesterday's visits, at least one Spinelli outlet was warned by PUB officers that it risked being fined if staff kept using the system.
When contacted, Starbucks Singapore marketing manager Ruth Yam said a PUB officer informed her of the checks at the stores and asked why the basin well system was used. She said the officer did not mention that the stores could be fined in their phone conversation. The PUB also declined to comment on the inspections.
The checks came on the same day The Straits Times reported that Starbucks and Spinelli used a so-called dipper well. The set-up sees utensils bathed in a constant supply of fresh water.
According to one estimate, reported in the British newspaper The Sun, the practice wastes over 23 million litres of water daily at Starbucks locations worldwide.
Starbucks has 57 stores in Singapore and Spinelli has 28. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which has 45 stores in Singapore and 692 stores worldwide, confirmed yesterday that it also uses the dipper well.
Both Starbucks and Spinelli said they will continue to use the system until they can find an alternative, adding that it is the most hygienic way to clean off milk residue.
'We choose to use basin wells because there is a constant supply of fresh water,' said Spinelli chief operating officer Freddy Ong.
'How would customers feel if they see utensils soaked in milky water in our stores?'
Under the Public Utilities Act, a person can be fined up to $50,000 and jailed up to three years for wasting water. The law, however, does not specify the definition of 'waste'. For second offences and beyond, fines can hit $1,000 per day.
Ms Yam said the company has tried other ways of cleaning utensils - including sticking them in ice-filled containers - but the trials proved unsuccessful.
But Australian coffee chain Gloria Jean's uses ice baths to clean utensils in its nearly 900 stores worldwide, including seven in Singapore. The cold of the ice prevents bacteria from breeding.
Gloria Jean's Singapore managing director James Donald said the company's lone outlet using a dipping well shelved the system this month because it uses too much water.
'The dipping well system does save some time...but it uses too much water,' he said.
Straits Times 9 Oct 08;
Ice baths
An ice bath is a one-litre stainless steel container filled with ice and water, in which utensils are soaked. The cold water prevents bacteria from breeding.
The contents of the ice bath are changed every half-hour.
The advantage of an ice bath is that it uses less water than a dipper well.
In the 14 hours that a coffee outlet is open, it would use 28 litres of water for its ice bath.
Its disadvantage is that the milk residue from utensils does not dissolve as easily because the water is already chalky from utensils soaking there from earlier.
Dipper wells
A dipper well is a basin into which clean tap water flows constantly to provide a fresh supply of water for soaking utensils. The run-off goes down the drain.
The advantage is that the water in the basin is always fresh. Milk residue dissolves more easily in clear water.
The downside of dipper wells is that a litre of water is used every three minutes.
In the hours that the outlet is open, that would work out to 280 litres of water every day.
