A straw-free DB?

Posted by Peter MUIR


plastic-straw-waste

US-based NGO Ecocycle has calculated that 500 million straws are used in the US every day. These calculations were based on estimates provided by straw manufacturers. This figure does not include all of the straws attached to juice and milk cartons which has led to some thinking that 500 million is too low.

What would 500 million straws look like? 500 million straws could fill over 127 buses each day, or more than 46,400 buses every year of non-biodegradable plastic. I wonder how many straws are used in Hong Kong per year? Or how many are used here in DC?

An idea for a CAS or CE project would be to investigate the use of straws in DB, then advocate restaurants and citizens to change their practices in their use of straws. Perhaps your long term goal would be a commitment for DB to become a straw-free community! Check out these ideas on creating a straw free project on the Eco Cycle website.