A thirsty world uses 500 million straws a day, with many of those coming from restaurants. That’s enough disposable straws to fill more than 46,400 large school buses per year.
Milo Cress is working to remove some of those from the waste stream with his Be Straw Free campaign. Cress urges people to invite at least “one restaurant to consider offering straws to customers instead of serving a straw with each drink automatically.”
Since the campaign began two years ago, Burlington, Vt., has issued a proclamation to become the “first straw-free city in America.”
“Being a kid can be an advantage,” he said during the fall People Report Best Practices Conference in Richardson, Texas. “People will listen to an idea if the idea is, first of all, easy for people to understand and something they can get excited about; second, if it’s good for the planet; and third, if it’s good for profits, if it helps businesses make or save money.”
George McKerrow Jr., co-founder and chief executive of Ted’s Montana Grill, who introduced Cress at the conference, recounted searching for a biodegradable paper-straw alternative and finding a company in New Jersey that invented the paper straw in 1833 but stopped manufacturing the product in 1970.
“I challenged them to start making the paper straws again,” McKerrow said. The company resurrected the old machinery, made 10,000 beeswax-covered paper straws and delivered them to Ted’s headquarters in bags.
While those straws didn’t work out for Ted’s, the manufacturer found a cruise-ship market and opened a paper-straw plant in Indiana to produce them. Ted’s has since signed a straw-free pledge.
“Our industry is in a leadership position,” McKerrow said. “People can learn from us. We can stand for the right things.”
Before his presentation, Cress talked with Nation’s Restaurant News.
The Be Straw Free campaign
How did you come up with the idea for the Straw Free campaign?
I noticed that if I didn’t order my drink without a straw, it would come with one automatically. I thought, “This is a huge waste. I can do something about this. I can help reduce the straws that are being sent to landfills and into our oceans.”
When was this?
Around January or February of 2011. I encourage restaurants to offer straws to customers instead of putting one into every drink automatically. I encourage people who don’t want a straw to order their drinks without one.
How have restaurant operators reacted?
It saves them money, so they like it. For every straw you don’t use, it’s money that is saved.
How many restaurant patrons embrace the message?
Between 50 [percent] and 80 percent of customers don’t take a straw if they are asked.
Tell me about appearing on CNN.
I’ve been on three times. I definitely hear from a lot of people. Nearly all of them like the idea, but some people say they will order seven straws the next time. But that’s the beauty of it. You can order as many straws as you want to order, but if someone doesn’t want a straw, they don’t have to take a straw. Either way, we’re still keeping straws out of the waste.
What kinds of awards have you received?
I was presented with the Blue Turtle Award by Jean-Michel Cousteau [the French environmentalist/film producer and son of the late ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau]. I also got to meet the entire Vermont congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., and the governor of Vermont.
What’s next for your campaign?
I’m going on my first international speaking tour. I’m going to go to Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and then San Francisco. I plan to reach about 6,000 students who are scheduled to attend my talks. I will be doing this in March. I’ve never been to any of those countries.
Did you expect this much attention?
Not really. I thought maybe I could keep a few hundred straws out of the landfill. But now it’s gone to dozens of countries.
What is your message to restaurant operators?
Just think of small, simple ways to reduce needless waste.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless.