In recognition of Earth Day, CARE for the Cape and Islands, a travelers’ philanthropy initiative that promotes the protection of the Cape and Islands environment, is heading a plastic-free campaign called “Skip the Straw.”
The campaign asks members of the Cape and Island communities to not use plastic straws for drinks. Instead, they recommend using paper straws, which are biodegradable; stainless steel straws, which cause no waste; or when dining out, people can ask their server for no straw when ordering drinks.
Some Island businesses are adapting. “We only give the straws if customers ask,” Matt Castro, assistant manager of Black Dog Bakery, told The Times.
CARE’s focus is “an awareness for the most part with the restaurant industry to show the effect of plastic straws, which can cause danger to marine environments. A paper straw can decompose, and a plastic straw cannot,” Jill Talladay, executive director of CARE, told The Times.
More than 500 million plastic straws are thrown away each day by Americans, according to strawfree.org, a California based organization that promotes a plastic-free lifestyle.
Talladay has also been working with Straw Free MV, an activist student group from the West Tisbury School.
Talladay hopes that the straw-free campaign can help raise awareness and move the conversation on to bigger topics. “The conversation can expand beyond plastic straws to other plastic-related things, like plastic water bottles, plastic bags, and containers,” she said.
The “Skip the Straw” campaign will take place on Sunday, April 22.
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