Last Straw Edmonton
The Last Straw is an initiative to encourage bars and restaurants to go straw-free. It is a movement to reduce plastic waste produced in the hospitality industry. This project is born out of the desire to shift perspectives and behaviours. Every time a straw-free drink is served, it means one less item in our landfills, one less piece of plastic in our oceans. Small changes can make a big difference.
From May through July 2018, Waste Free Edmonton and Plastic Free YYC competed to see which city – Edmonton or Calgary – could have more restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and other businesses within the hospitality industry go straw-free by July 14, 2018. In the end, 86 Edmonton businesses and 62 Calgary businesses were on board, resulting in a decrease of tens of thousands straws being served every week, used for a few minutes, then thrown out. This is in addition to the large numbers of businesses that were already straw-free before the campaign began, and those that have joined since.
The competition is over, but we continue to encourage businesses in the hospitality to make the more sustainable choice, and go straw-free.
For a list of straw-free businesses in Edmonton, click here!
Q – Why is it important to go straw-free?
A – Over 57 million straws are thrown away every day in Canada alone. They take resources to produce and to distribute, and after being used for such a short time they go on to live for an eternity in landfills, or end up in our waterways, washed up on beaches around the world, or worst, eaten by wildlife. They have a huge impact on our earth, and such a small impact on our lives and the quality of service that restaurants provide.
Q – What do we mean by “straw-free”?
A – Ideally, there would be no disposable straws whatsoever – especially plastic ones. However, some people legitimately need straws – such as those with certain disabilities – so of course there are exceptions. We are asking that all restaurants and bars stop giving single-use straws automatically. Either provide reusable straws (glass, stainless steel), or provide a less harmful disposable straw on request only (paper, pasta, twizzlers, etc!), and keep a few plastic straws on hand for those who legitimately need them.
Q – What about using compostable straws?
Compostable straws are still disposable, and less preferable than opting to go strawless or use a reusable straw.
If you need to use compostable straws (for example, for people with certain disabilities), they should be composted in a commercial composting facility. Buying compostable straws and then disposing of them in a landfill is not a solution to our unsustainable system of consumption and disposal.
