Following in the footsteps of locations like Seattle where single-use plastics such as utensils and straws have been banned and other locations considering such bans, coffee giant Starbucks announced this week that by 2020, plastic straws will be replaced by a biodegradable alternative in every one of its stores.

"There are several of these single-use items the public is realizing, hey, we don't actually need these," said Denise Hardesty, a scientist with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation who studies plastic pollution.

Considered to be one of the top five sources of single-use plastic waste after plastic bags, water bottles, to-go containers and to-go cups, plastic straws are responsible for roughly 2,000 tons of the almost 9 million tons of plastic waste that makes its way into the waters all around the world each year.

The move — which is expected to incorporate materials such as paper in lieu of the plastic straws as well as the possibility of a newly designed lid, making straws unnecessary — will make Starbucks the largest food and beverage company to enact such a ban.