Skip the Straw.
It’s the name of a new campaign to help reduce the amount of plastic pollution across the Cape, part of a broader effort by the nonprofit CARE — Creating a Responsible Environment, formed six years ago by Jill Talladay, of Yarmouth.
“Talking about straws is simple and easy, but ultimately we want to talk about the overall use of plastic and what can be done,” says Talladay, who launched the Skip the Straw effort on Earth Day, last week.
In fact, the Earth Day Network’s 2018 global objective was “dedicated to providing the information and inspiration needed to fundamentally change human attitude and behavior about plastics,” she notes.
CARE’s mission is to “engage visitors and residents both in our natural environment and cultural history to inspire stewardship,” Talladay says. To that end they’ve given out some 25 project grants, such as those to fund water bottle filling stations, “butlers” to collect cigarette butts for recycling, and signs for pollinator pathways.
CARE is working with businesses to stop plastic straw use by substituting paper or reusable straws, or to eliminate straws in beverages altogether. Some are on board.
Mac’s Seafood, in Eastham, Wellfleet and Provincetown, inspired by the owners’ daughter, decided to eliminate plastic straws for two reasons, Talladay says. It saves money and advocates for the health of locally sourced seafood — the more plastics are eliminated, the better for fish and shellfish.
Guapo’s Tortilla Shack, with restaurants in Orleans and Brewster, recently joined the straw revolution, no longer using the plastic variety.
“Estimates show that humans use 500 million straws a day and that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish,” says a statement from Guapo’s, which estimates that they’ll take some 20,000 straws out of circulation each month with the ban.
Source : wickedlocal.com
