Skip the Straw

Wellesley Skips the Straw

Why the buzz?  The average straw is sipped for only 20 minutes but it can take over 200 years to break down.  Straws are very lightweight and often wind up in our oceans and on our beaches where they are a danger to marine life.  Plastics never biodegrade — they just break into smaller and smaller pieces.

Sustainable Wellesley is encouraging local restaurants to be part of the #SkipTheStraw Initiative and we need your help asking local managers to re-evaluate their use of plastic straws.

This is not a pipe dream!  The city of Seattle is now straw-less and some local restaurants have already switched so swing by and say thanks to the folks at CocoBeet, The Local, and Quebrada Bakery.  If you know of more please email us.

Please consider adding your name next to one or some of the 74 restaurants/cafes here in Wellesley that you would be willing to contact. Although some of these restaurants may not currently serve plastic straws, it is still beneficial to highlight the importance of keeping it that way.  After adding your name to the document above, feel free to use these talking points  when talking to them.

According to the World Wildlife Federation, at current rate of use, the amount of plastics in the ocean will literally outweigh fish by 2050. The 500 million plastic straws used each day are one of the top beach polluters, according to 5 Gyres, a global health nonprofit organization against plastic pollution in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.