USA Today reports that Bon Appétit Management, described as a “big food-service company with eateries at major U.S. college campuses, museums and other institutions,” plans to ban plastic straws and stirrers from its more than a thousand locations in 33 states.
It will be a phased ban, completed by September 2019.
As an alternative, Bon Appétit said it will “ offer paper straws to diners who have physical challenges or “strongly feel the need” for one … The inspiration for Bon Appétit's ban came, in part, from the University of Portland in Oregon, where students worked to outlaw plastic straws on campus in April. Bon Appétit has a contract with the university.”
The story notes that “plastic straws have become an issue because they can foul beaches or waterways and, in most cases, aren't really necessary for drinking. Americans use an estimated 500 million disposable plastic straws every day, according to Eco-Cycle, a Boulder, Colo.-based non-profit recycler.”
It will be a phased ban, completed by September 2019.
As an alternative, Bon Appétit said it will “ offer paper straws to diners who have physical challenges or “strongly feel the need” for one … The inspiration for Bon Appétit's ban came, in part, from the University of Portland in Oregon, where students worked to outlaw plastic straws on campus in April. Bon Appétit has a contract with the university.”
The story notes that “plastic straws have become an issue because they can foul beaches or waterways and, in most cases, aren't really necessary for drinking. Americans use an estimated 500 million disposable plastic straws every day, according to Eco-Cycle, a Boulder, Colo.-based non-profit recycler.”
- KC's View:
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This story has gained a lot of traction recently, as a number of communities have either banned or limited the use of plastic straws. I didn’t see this one coming, but I suspect that we’re going to see a lot more companies taking this step.
The bet here? You’ll see Starbucks banning them before long … they hand out a lot of those things with every cold drink they sell.
