The Last Straw in Hospitality?
Whenever my family eats out and we are automatically offered plastic straws for our drinks, we tell the server we do not need them and to take them back. With what we know about plastic straws—they are non-biodegradable and take hundreds of years to decompose and break down into microplastics—you would think they would no longer be used…but no. They are still all too common in hospitality.
Numerous hotel companies have pledged to stop buying plastic straws. Six years ago, Marriott phased them out. Five years ago, Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. eliminated single-use straws from its branded properties as part of its continued effort to reduce its overall environmental footprint. A year earlier, Wyndham Destinations announced it would eliminate plastic straws from food and beverage operations at its timeshare resorts around the world.
Do a search on “straws” on Green Lodging News and you will find many other examples of companies phasing out/eliminating plastic straws.
To address the plastic straw problem, you can either adopt a “no straw” policy, offer them only on request, or replace the plastic versions with ones made from alternative materials (and offer those only upon request). I have come across many examples of plastic alternatives over the years. I most recently heard from Corn Next in regard to its flavored straws made from Corn Next-17, a fully biodegradable, starch-based solution that breaks down in weeks without microplastics. The following are some other plastic straw alternatives to check out:
Coverage is quoted as published and may not reflect Corn Next’s current product claims.
