Plastic Straws Losing Appeal in The Big Apple
That sucking sound you hear from the south, north, west and east is coming from the millions of users of plastic straws. We’re happy to report you may not be hearing it much longer. There’s a movement afoot to bury such single-use plastic items – just not in our landfills or oceans.
A recent New York Times feature notes:
“the ubiquitous plastic straw has suddenly become a pariah for the harm it can do to the environment.”
By some accounts we trash some 500 MILLION plastic straws each and every day.
Online campaigns that include Stop Sucking and The Last Plastic Straw are on a mission to outlaw straws. It’s not that much of a reach. Seattle, Washington, and Malibu, California, have already banned plastic straws.
And in New York City, many businesses have made it their business to scrap straws.
Some eateries now offer paper straws
“People stopped asking for them,” notes Basu Ratnam, owner of three fast-casual Indian restaurants in Manhattan. “Straws are a small, nonessential beverage accessory that we found people aren’t super attached to. We have been able to change customer behavior without being disruptive.”
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s upscale Mexican restaurants Atla and Cosme offer only metal or paper straws.
It’s a good start. But for now it remains an uphill battle for the anti-straw folks. Plastic straws are often cheaper and more durable than their paper counterparts.
Read more on New York’s grassroots war on plastic straws.