Council aims to curb use of plastic straws in Wellington restaurants
Sunday, 3 December 2017
Some Wellington restaurants give out 800 plastic straws every week, according to new research, and many are winding up on the capital's beaches.
It's no wonder conservation group Sustainable Coastlines reports straws are among the most common litter items collected during beach clean-ups.
American exchange student Katie Timzen has been working with Wellington City Council and Sustainable Coastlines to raise awareness of the issue among waterfront restaurateurs, with the aim of reducing usage.
'They are a nuisance in the environment, they significantly harm marine life worldwide, so just trying to reduce the number of them is our goal,' she said.
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'Straws aren't talked about – they are kind of just a habit. It's a social norm to get a straw in your drink, despite it being usually unnecessary.'
In order to help bars and restaurants make the transition to more sustainable alternatives, the council is planning to bulk purchase paper straws, and offer them for free trials to outlets.
A council spokeswoman said creating bylaws against the use of straws was not an option.
'As with plastic bags, we can't regulate the banning of plastic straws, but we are working closely with stakeholders and community groups and organisations to educate, reduce, and reuse in all areas of waste minimisation and management.'
As straws breakdown into smaller pieces they were often mistaken for food by fish, seabirds, and marine mammals, and had been found to move up the foodchain as the original ingester was eaten, Timzen said.
'I have mostly been going to talk to managers on the waterfront to start a conversation about it,' she said.
Restaurants on the waterfront with outdoor seating had the most impact. If a straw was dropped the wind would blow it straight out into the water.
Most waterfront restaurants and bars surveyed were found to be receptive to the idea of cutting down on the use of disposable straws, and several were investigating the rollout of metal straws. Two-thirds were open to having facts about the impact of straws displayed in-house.
Timzen is one of 17 students who travelled to New Zealand with the HECUA programme, which aims to further environmental causes through internships.
Hospitality New Zealand spokeswoman Rachael Shadbolt said the industry was behind limiting disposable straw use, but would not comment on whether the organisation would support legislation to ban the use of non-biodegrable straws.
She wasn't surprised some restaurants used more than 100 straws per day. 'When you consider every glass of coke or orange juice will probably have a straw of some sort, nine times out of then you take the straw out and plonk it on the table.'
Sustainable Coastlines co-founder Sam Judd said there were plenty of reusable options available, including bamboo and metal straws.
'Plastic straws are the kind of thing people don't think about enough when it comes to single use plastics … it's the thing you stir your drink with and throw away,' Judd said.
Foxglove and Ombra took part inn Our Seas Our Future's Straw Free September.
Foxglove duty manager Theo Loach said the restaurant had continued to try and limit straw since, only giving them out when asked.
Around a third of customers still wanted the convenience of a straw, Loach said, but most were happy to forego after they heard about the effect the items had on sea life.