Skip the Straw: How Restaurants Can Make an Impact

3 Min Read By Ray Hatch

Plastic waste is no longer a “problem”: it is a full-blown epidemic. Every year, roughly eight million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. That’s the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every coastline around the world. At current rates of production, plastic pollution in the ocean will outweigh fish pound-for-pound by 2050.

A group of Whitehall Middle School students known as “The Coral Keepers” founded National Skip the Straw Day in 2017 under the guidance of their advisor, Susan Tate. The intention behind National Skip the Straw Day on Feb. 28 is to encourage Americans to give up their plastic straw habit and help spread awareness about the damage caused by disposable single-use plastics. 

As a restaurant, real dedication to solving the plastic waste problem is going to take a bigger commitment than just straws.

In the restaurant industry, single-use plastics are often viewed as a necessary evil. Consumers are…