St Albans #refusethestraw campaign is inspired by Plastic Free July and has one simple aim; to drastically reduce the use of plastic straws in bars, pubs, cafes, coffee shops, restaurants, schools and everywhere else across St Albans. After watching A Plastic Ocean as part of the St Albans Film Festival, Emma (founder) felt even more motivated to push forward with this movement to rid St Albans of these harmful, and unnecessary, single- use plastics from our community.
A plastic straw has a useful life of around 20 minutes, and most places don’t bother separating them out for recycling. Many end up in our oceans. A great example of human wastefulness! Local businesses can take part in the following ways:
- Provide a straw only when requested by a customer
- Provide compostable paper straws instead (not those with a polyethylene lining) or other eco-friendly straws
- Get rid of straws completely*
*Note: In the interest of considering customers with disabilities, ideally sustainable alternatives to plastic straws would still be available, at least on request.
Furthermore, individuals can help by spreading the word, speaking to people who work in local businesses about changes they can make, and simply by refusing a straw when buying a drink.
The campaign has got off to a roaring start and is gaining momentum fast! So far 16 businesses (and counting!) have pledged their support and are taking action, with more being added to the list daily. This is great news for our environment!
At the time of writing, the following are all phasing out (or already have removed) plastic straws:
Lussmanns – all 5 branches across Herts
Thank you, and well done to you all!
I am so excited about this fantastic step forward and can’t wait for further developments! To keep up with the latest campaign news and progress, make sure you follow @starefusestraw on twitter and St Albans #refusethestraw over on facebook. Neighbouring town of Harpenden also has its own #refusethestraw campaign, which you can find on facebook or twitter too.
And don’t forget to tag us in your local strawless or eco straw photos and/ or share them with us using the #refusethestraw hashtag to help spread the word even further!
Small changes make a big impact… and together we can clean up our planet.
If you would like to set up a campaign in your local area, here are some top tips:
- You can get started just by setting up an email address, Twitter and Facebook page.
- Approach businesses initially with a polite email, following up with an update if no response.
- Keep it light – we all know this is a serious thing, but a big green rant might put people off.
- Start with green and community minded businesses who are more likely to switch to get the ball rolling and build momentum. Other people are more likely to switch if they see others doing so!
- Take it at your own pace. Even just 1 or 2 emails / calls / visits a day makes a huge impact!
- Be prepared with information to be able to widen the conversation if the business would like further details e.g. disposable cups, food waste etc…
- Don’t be afraid to try the big chains. Ask them to use your local branch as a pilot.
- Spread the word about your campaign on local Facebook groups etc…
- Regular updates on social media keeps momentum. Post successes, and regularly publicise a list of everyone who has switched.
- People like to share photos, encourage use of the hashtag to help spread the word further.
- Approach local media and bloggers to get coverage.
- Work with local groups e.g. WI, Transition, Scouts.
Plastic Straw Alternatives
There are various sustainable straw options. I have tested out a couple of different ones at home; including steel and bamboo reusables, plus disposable paper and wheat ones too. I recommend the best thing to do is try some out for yourself and decide which is best for you. But here are some of my personal opinions:
Wheat Straws (£3.49 for 40 straws)
Pros – they can be cut to size
Cons – feels like they are softening as drink
Paper Straws (£7.99 for 150 straws)*
Pros – cheap and easy to source
Cons – they can get soggy
Steel Straws (£5.99 for 4 pack of 145mm angled straws plus cleaning brush)
Pros – very durable, easy to clean
Cons – maybe feels abit cold and uncomfortable, plus mind you don’t bash your teeth! (Some have latex covers which would be good). Also makes an annoying sound against glass
Bamboo Straws (£3.99 for 4 pack of 145mm straws plus cleaning brush)
Pros – Cheap for reusables, highly sustainable, I like the fact they are chunkier than most straws (comfortable)
Cons – May stain abit from drink
Conclusion: The bamboo straws are my personal favourites!
On that note; to celebrate the launch of this campaign and as part of Plastic Free July, I have teamed up with Eco Straws to giveaway a set of 4 bamboo straws (215mm) for one lucky winner!
Enter via rafflecopter below.
Open to UK residents only. Closes 10th August 2017. Other T&Cs apply.
*Disclosure: Affiliate Amazon link. This does not cost the buyer any extra.
Thank you to Eco Straws, who supplied the bamboo straw set as a prize. I purchased my own straws. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
You know it seems so obvious reading it but I had never thought about it before. I mean I don’t even need a straw at all so why am I using one and creating more waste?!
I pledge to ditch
I pledge to ditch the straws!
Didn’t know these were available & I most definitely pledge to ditch!
I pledge to ditch plastic straws!
I Natalee Gosiewski Promise to ditch the plastic straws
No more plastic straws for me!
I pledge to dirch the plastic straw
Great idea – I pledge to ditch plastic straws x
I pledge to ditch plastic straws! x
I pledge to ditch, I already try and not use them
I pledge to ditch plastic straws!
I pledge to get rid of plastic straws!
Excellent pledge to make and keep.
I pledge to ditch the straw. I also signed the petition to ask McDonalds to stop using plastic straws (link pn St Albans ditch the straw FB page)
I definitely pledge to ditch the plastic straw! Until you sit down and read the facts and statistics, you don’t realise the impact your tiny little straw actually has on the environment, and I can guarantee, from now on, no straws for me!
I pledge to ditch plastic straws. I’ve already bought some stainless steel straws and I love them personally. They got lots of positive comments when I had friends round for drinks this weekens. I’d love to try the bamboo straws next.
i pledge to ditch
I pledge to ditch plastic straws 🙂
I pledge to ditch the plastic straws
I pledge – I never use straws anyway!
Definitely would use these as I use straws to drink my tea (stops teeth stainage). Awesome idea!
I’ll give up plastic straws for good
I am ditching the plastic straw for good!
Really like the idea of eco reusable straws. Would love to try the bamboo ones. I pledge to ditch the straws
I Ann definitely ditching the plastic straws! Had a conversation with my stepdad about this and he went out and bought some paper straws from poundstretcher! Bless him!
I pledge to ditch
I pledge to ditch
Respect to you and all those involved in this campaign. I have already stopped buying plastic hand soap bottles and pledge to do the same for straws.
I pledge to ditch!!
I pledge to ditch plastic straws xx
I pledge to ditch the plastic straws. Great campaign.
I would definitely love to try these!
I totally agree with this change in the use of straws and haven’t used a plastic straw in so long. The steel ones look great, but like you said might be too cold and hurt your teeth. ☺️
So, these bamboo ones sounds really good!
Are these easy to clean? I’ve been looking for a good re-usable straw as my daughter has a few cups with lids so she doesn’t spill everywhere but the straws that came with them clogged up quickly so I bought a pack of disposables but feel terrible about the amount of waste it creates.
Yes they are, but I would say the steel ones are the easiest cleaning wise 🙂 x
Looks great, would love to try, makes sense
I pledge to ditch single use plastic straws and also plastic bags and other single use items.
I pledge to ditch plastic straws
I pledge to ditch plastic straws
I pledge to ditch plastic straws
I’d like to pledge and enter the competition.
what an interesting campaign! It’s something i’d never have thought about before and now I will definitely be thinking twice about plastic straws! At home I actually try to re-use them but theres only a certain number of times i can rewash them before they need throwing out. These re-usable ones sound amazing! As my daughter progressed from baby beaker to cup, straws have been a brilliant in-between – but now i know about this – i’m definitely going to be more aware of our use of straws and try to be more eco-friendly!
I pledge to ditch
I pledge to ditch those nasty plastic straws
I rarely use them but will definitely stop!
I pledge to ditch plastic straws.
I pledge to ditch
I pledge to ditch! Love this idea and avoid straws at bars when I can
I pledge to ditch
Comment to confirm your pledge to ditch plastic straws! OH YES YES YES what a strikingly simple idea
Vegware make a compostable biodegradable straw… it looks and feels like plastic, but goes in the compost bin
Hoping to get on board with this, thank you for the informative post!
Using straws is my 1 vice and I want to do better. I had some reusable plastic straws but they went funny after being washed.
This is a great idea x
I pledge to ditch
great idea..I pledge to ditch
sounds like a fab idea
Great idea, hope it catches on!!
It can only be a good thing to ditch the plastic straws.
Great idea! I rarely use disposable straws but I’ll make an extra effort to change that rarely to a never!
I think these area brilliant idea.
I will stop using plastic straws.
I didn’t even know there were other options – thanks for sharing!
No more plastic straws
I pledge to ditch.