HELP YOUR COMMUNITY DRINK FROM ITS
LAST PLASTIC STRAW
The “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is a toxic soup of trash and plastic debris concentrated by ocean currents estimated to be twice the size of Texas and predicted to double in size in the next ten years. The plastic debris is a physical and biochemical hazard to the millions of seabirds and marine animals that become entangled or ingest it each year, affecting survival rates, reproduction, and genetic aberrations in a wide range of marine organisms.
Approximately 80% of the plastic in the ocean originates from the improper disposal of consumer products on land, primarily from food service. Americans use over 500 million plastic straws every day, a vast majority of which escape our waste management system and end up in our oceans. In the last 25 years over 6,000,000 straws and stirrers were picked up during annual beach clean-up events.
Reducing or eliminating our use of plastic straws is an easy way to reduce one of the top ten marine debris items degrading our oceans. Giving up plastic straws, especially when dining in, would have little to no effect on our lives, but would make a great positive change in the marine environment.
The Last Straw Community Toolkit provided free for download at this website was started by staff from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 to compile and contribute to the open-source ideas and promotional graphics created by numerous straw-free initiatives around the globe, and provide resources for organizations and individuals to reduce plastic straw use in your communities. We hope it is useful to all! Thank you.
START LOCALLY.
The Last Straw Community Toolkit provides resources for community organizations to adopt a "straw-free" campaign that engages with your local dining establishments to reduce plastic straw use at the source.
One of the most effective means of reducing straw use in your community is to encourage local food vendors to institute a "Straws Upon Request" policy, to only provide straws to customers who request them and, upon request, provide reusable or non-plastic straws that would break down more easily in the environment.
The best way to prevent straws from becoming marine debris is by not offering them in the first place. The second best way is by replacing plastic straws with non-plastic alternatives that are less threatening to the environment.
SPREAD THE WORD.
The Last Straw Community Toolkit provides ideas and materials for community organizations to educate restaurant staff and customers on the environmental and economic benefits of a "Straws Upon Request" policy with talking points, training, and in-store displays. The toolkit also supplies ideas and sample promotional materials for community organizations to support participating businesses on social media and with a recognition program.
CUSTOMIZE THE TOOLS.
The sample promotional and educational materials included in this toolkit are designed to be customizable for any community group or local restaurant that wants to be part of this movement to use the "Last Straw" graphics directly from the toolkit or insert your logo and brand them as your own. All graphics, materials, and ideas presented in the toolkit are offered as open-source to help expand the straw-free movement.
REFUSE PLASTIC STRAWS.
Keep the straw-free movement going by personally declining to accept straws when dining out. Encourage friends and family to join you.
As we know from marine debris surveys, straws escape our waste management system and become litter that gets carried downstream and into our oceans. The Toolkit does not recommend restaurants offers straws upon request made of bioplastics, as these are neither recyclable or compostable, or any straws made of compostable or biodegradable plastics, as these require industrial high-heat composting operations to finally break down.
REUSE
REDUCE
GO BEYOND STRAWS.
Once you've reduced plastic straw use in your community, you can start reducing the other top ten marine debris items at the source. When you land on a good strategy, share your techniques and promotional materials with partner organizations and individuals to keep the movement going to reduce plastic trash in our oceans.
