Plastic straws are starting to seem more and more unnecessary in this day and age. We’ve mentioned before how much these straws are churned out and wasted (we don’t need plastic straw dispensers when your drink is going to come with a straw anyways, and we’ve all seen people at counters ignore plastic straws that are already out of the dispenser just so they can get a new one), and how this wastefulness affects the environment (think of the sea turtles). Unless you have a debilitating condition that requires being fed and drinking through a plastic straw, it doesn’t make sense to continue patronizing the use of them. It looks like corporations are starting to agree.
Earlier today, the Moment Group announced that they’re curbing the use of plastic straws in all their restaurants. The company, which handles Manam, 8 Cuts, and Ooma, among others, noted that they are trying “to take our first steps toward a more sustainable journey for our stores,” and paper straws will only be served upon request from their customers.
The group is the latest to join the #AyokoNgPlastik movement, an initiative started by the WWF-Philippines. Last Aug. 22, Cibo announced that they were partnering with the animal rights group by donating 20% of their anniversary year sales to the movement.
Other companies are also doing their own form of going plastic-free. Starbucks went public last July about their plans to completely phase out their use of plastic by the year 2020. Mcdonald’s UK also announced their plans to replace plastic straws with paper ones last April. Every once in a while, local branches of big fast food chains announce that they, too, are banning plastic, like this Burger King branch in Makati.
It’s easy to scoff at these moves and dismiss them as just corporations cashing in on a movement, but the thing is, even if that’s true, big corporations going plastic-free will still lessen the global use of plastic. The best thing about zero waste and going plastic free becoming a global movement is that it makes saving the planet something that everyone, even big corps, want to do.
Featured photo courtesy of Unsplash
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