Page 7 - foodservice magazine September 2018

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Australian Venues Ditch Plastic Straws
With the influence of television program War on Waste and social media campaigns like #SydneyDoesntSuck ever-expanding, Australian restaurants, cafes and bars are increasingly going plastic straw-free.
Research shows that Australians use 10 million straws every day and 3.6 billion straws annually. And as largely single-use plastic, these straws end up in landfill and our waterways, having a detrimental impact on the environment.
But as awareness and momentum grows, Australian restaurants, cafes and bars are doing their bit by reducing food and packaging waste, and going plastic straw-free.
High-profile, Sydney venues such as the Sydney Opera House, International Convention Centre and Museum of Contemporary Art which have already made the change.
Correspondingly, Solotel Group, which operates Opera Bar, has gotten behind the ‘plastic straws suck’ campaign with all of the hospitality group’s restaurants, pubs and bars now straw-free. The move at Opera
Bar alone will save 1.3 million straws from landfill every year. Similarly, Grill’d, has joined
the campaign removing all black plastic straws from its 130 restaurants.
Up until recently, the burger chain used 1.7 million straws a year, and as such Simon Crowe, founder and managing director, is pleased his business can do its part to help the environment.
“Caring about sustainability and the environment has always been part of the Grill’d DNA, but we’re dedicated to doing more and getting better,” he says. “Banning straws is just one of the sustainability initiatives that we’re committed to, and we hope more restaurants will do the same.”
Above: (L-R) Matt Moran (Solotel Group), Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Miller and Craig Reucassel (War on Waste).