The final straw – say NO to plastic straws

Items tagged by litterati.org

Straws are almost never recycled because they’re too small and could be made from several different types of plastic. Bright and unlikely to get buried under the sand, they remain a massive problem of plastic pollution; eight million tons of plastic is dumped into the world’s oceans every year.

Koranis Tanangsnakool, a sustainable business consultant and the founder of ReReef, an e-commerce website selling environment-friendly products, does care. She notes the number of times we get offered plastic straws each day. Two? Four? Ten times?

So Koranis has reached out to a number of cafes, restaurants and hotels around Thailand who want to reduce the number of straws in the eco-system and shared the same eco-friendly vision. She’s invited them to reduce their plastic straw usage. Soon Koranis formed Green Cafe Network, a group of more than 30 Bangkok eateries that follows one rule: no plastic straw offered unless requested by the customer.

PHOTO: Change.org

Time-Out Bangkok reports that you can start by enjoying your drink at these Green Cafe Network venues, which include Thank God it’s Organic, Grind Size Bangkok, The Yard Bangkok, School Coffee, June in October, Venice Milk & Coffee Cafe (Chiang Mai), Suku Suku, La’au Cafe, Coffee Tea or Meal at Fresh Station SCB Park, Bite Me I’m Delicious, GreenGastro Cafe, Hom Hostel & Cooking Club, SrangWa Organic Coffee, Bitter Better, Better Moon cafe x Refill Station, and Le Du Restaurant and Wine Bar. (Read more of the Time Out story HERE.)

If you sell or use eco-friendly straws in your venue contact us and we’ll add you to the list. In fact we’ll give you a free posting on our Facebook page!

You can order eco-friendly straws HERE.

So next time you visit a convenience store and are offered a plastic straw, or buy a drink from a roadside vendor, or in a cafe – anywhere – just politely decline the offer. Do you REALLY need that straw? No, and the environment will thank you.