Douglas Capper and his 9-year-old son Levi, both of Collegeville, had hoped that Wawa would completely drop its plastic coffee stirrers in favor of more environmentally friendly bamboo ones, writes Jamie McClelland for thegreencities.com.

Wawa instead chose a middle path. The bamboo’s there, but so is the plastic.

“We are hoping our new stirrers provide a choice for customers who want to support more sustainable efforts,” said Wawa’s spokeswoman, Lori Bruce. “We plan to give our customers the option to choose while we continue our journey to explore other environmentally friendly viable options.”

Capper had started an online petition asking Wawa to drop the plastic. After he got 2,500 signatures, Capper emailed Wawa directly.

He heard back from Wawa CEO Chris Gheysen, who implemented the change last month at various Wawas.

Capper has mixed feelings.

“I wish they were only using bamboo, but it is better to introduce bamboo as an option than to not. Now it is up to the customers to make the right decision,” Capper said.

Wawa does now use 100 percent sustainably-sourced coffee. It promotes reuseable bags and refillable mugs on its website.

It’s also installing solar panels at 90 of its New Jersey stores.

Read more about Wawa’s bamboo stirrers here.

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