Page 17 - Foodservice Magazine October 2018

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AUSTRALIA DOESN’T SUCK
RARELY HAS AN ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE MOVED SO FAST AS THE CURRENT CAMPAIGN TO BAN THE SINGLE-USE PLASTIC STRAW ACROSS HOSPITALITY VENUES. WHAT CAN WE LEARN, ASKS JILL DUPLEIX ABOUT BOTH THE NEED FOR THE INITIATIVE, AND HOW IT COULD BEST BE IMPLEMENTED IN OUR CAFES, BARS AND HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS?
INSIDER
Oh, the straws I’ve known. That first, striped, paper straw in my bottle of Fanta
as a kid was the very height of sophistication. Then came straws in frothy, pink milkshakes in tall, icy-cold aluminium containers. Straws in healthy green smoothies. Somewhere along the way, the straws became plastic and the drinks became Negronis, but I was still a sucker for them.
than fish by 2050; ultimately (if at all) breaking down to microplastics that move into the food chain.
According to The Last Straw campaign, we go through a frightening 10 million plastic straws a day. That’s small in relation to unrecyclable coffee cups (1 billion a year), but it’s still 10 million a day too many.
“I see straws as a gateway drug,” says City of Sydney Councillor Jess Miller, who recently galvanised Sydney’s straw-free inner urban
bar community under an umbrella campaign called #SydneyDoesn’tSuck. “If you get your head around the problem with plastic straws you’ll go on to become more aware of broader sustainability issues.”
Miller is struck by how quickly the hospitality industry has jumped on board, with everyone from the Sydney Opera House and its Solotel Group venues headed by Matt Moran (previously responsible for 1.1 million plastic straws a year) to the Marriot International going plastic straw-free. Even Maccas Australia has signed the pledge.
Some learnings from those who’ve done so, might be helpful. 1. Before going straight to a
replacement biodegradable straw, simply stop adding straws to your drinks. Put up a sign that says something like ‘Straws On Request’, or ‘Skip The Straw, Save a Sea Turtle’.
2. If the drinks you’re offering require straws, consider redesigning them so they don’t, as Michael Chiem has done at PS40 in Sydney.
3. Explore alternatives
to plastic, from Klean Kanteen (stainless steel) and Yourstraw (bamboo) to Sprocket & Steel (stainless steel) and BioPak (biodegradable and paper). Some venues even have
fun using hollow spaghetti (bucatini) as straws.
4. Sign up your venue at laststraw.com.au and get a resource kit.
5. Importantly, always keep some straws on hand, for people with disabilities.
6. Next stop, plastic bags, plastic coffee cups, plastic water bottles and plastic take-away containers.
“I see straws as a gateway drug,” says City of Sydney Councillor Jess Miller. “If you get your head around the problem with plastic straws you’ll go on to become more aware of broader sustainability issues.”
Jill Dupleix is a food writer, editor, cookbook author, restaurant critic and co-Director of Australia’s Top Restaurants.
And now? If a bar or restaurant gives me a plastic straw, it’s like, “You’re kidding me. What planet are you on?”
Not the planet on which a short video of a turtle with a plastic straw stuck up its nostril went viral. Not the planet on which Craig Reucassel of ABC TV’s War on Waste series campaigns to ban the single-use plastic straw across the board. Not the planet on which environmentalists believe the oceans could have more plastic
JILL
DUPLEIX
JILL
DUPLEIX