NEW YORK -- The next time you order an iced coffee from Starbucks, it might not look that different - but there's been a major change. The chain announced Thursday that the plastic cups for all sizes ...

An engineering graduate is turning thousands plastic cups into soft sweaters and beanies using a kind of "yarn" made from the plastic.

The numbers are staggering. According to one report, the world uses 500 billion plastic cups every year. It's estimated that 50 billion paper coffee cups are thrown away in the United States alone.

ASU, in collaboration with Starbucks, is taking strides to decrease plastic waste by replacing single-use plastic cups with reusable cups at the nine participating Starbucks locations on ASU campuses.

Tracy J. Wholf is a senior coordinating producer of climate and environmental coverage for CBS News and Stations, based in New York. Many consumers trust that when they toss a plastic cup into a ...