Starbucks adds dirty needle disposal boxes to bathrooms

Starbucks is getting a buzz from more than just espresso.

The coffee giant is so tired of junkies leaving used needles in its stores that it is installing needle-disposal boxes in many of its stores.

The company is placing the needle drops in 25 US markets — with plans to expand by the end of summer.

“We’re rolling [the initiative] out on a store-by-store, market-by-market basis and if a district manager requests one,” a Starbucks spokesperson told The Post, declining to say whether any New York City stores are affected.

Either way, Big Apple baristas say they’ve been feeling the sting since Starbucks’ decision last summer to open restrooms to non-customers.

But baristas said Big Apple locations — such as the West 31 St. and 7th Ave. store — have seen an uptick in discarded needles since the chain decided to open the restrooms to everyone.

“I’ve seen needles in our bathroom,” said an employee at the store on West 31st Street and 7th Avenue.

Busier stores have become overrun with the hazardous syringes, according to another Starbucks employee who complained the East 36th Street and Madison Avenue location is a “needle plaza.”

“You go there, there’s a needle in the bathroom every day,” the worker said.

The sharps boxes are coming three months after employees to better protect them from needles in high-risk areas.

More than 5,000 people signed the petition, which claimed baristas in a Seattle-area location were pricked by hypodermic needles.

The US Department of Labor, which oversees occupational safety, told The Post it is not currently probing any incidents in New York, but said the chain has been penalized for putting employees at risk in other locales.

Needles stuck two employees in 2018 at a location in Eugene, Oregon, resulting in an investigation by the state arm of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,

“The manager confirmed two employees had received needle stick injuries within the last month from hypodermic needles left uncapped in the bathroom, and stated needles and blood had been found in the bathroom at this location for over a year, but the frequency of needles being left in the bathrooms had increased significantly in recent months,” the department said, according to papers obtained in a FOIA request by Business Insider.

Starbucks was ordered to pay $3,100 in the investigation, which fined the company for not providing containers for used needles, according to the report.

“We are always working and listening to our partners on ways we can better support them when it comes to issues like these,” the Starbucks rep told The Post.

“These societal issues affect us all and can sometimes place our partners in scary situations, which is why we have protocols and resources in place to ensure our partners are out of harm’s way,” the spokesperson said. “If our partners are ever in a position where they don’t feel comfortable completing a task, they are empowered to remove themselves from the situation and alert their manager.