Frankston’s Cheeky Squire has called time on plastic straws. In a move to help protect Port Phillip Bay and the wider environment, venue manager Daniel Potter has replaced plastic straws with cardboard straws — and here’s why.
Every year, 100,000 marine mammals and turtles are killed by plastic pollution. Every year, one million seabirds are killed by plastic waste. And the 11th most common litter item in the ocean? You guessed it, the plastic straw.
Previously The Cheeky Squire went through an estimated 18,000-21,000 plastic straws every month. Now it uses none. That’s something worth drinking to.
“We think it’s important that venues and consumers are well educated on this issue, especially those located in bayside areas,” Daniel said. “Hopefully, increased awareness of this issue will result in an increased number of venues and consumers consciously considering the impact of their plastic waste and take steps to keep the utilisation of single-use plastics to a minimum.”
A single plastic straw can take a whopping 200 years to fully decompose. We invite you to stop and consider that every piece of plastic you have ever thrown out still exists. It’s all out there, taking up precious space in landfill or damaging our ecosystem as harmful gases are released during its decomposition.
The Cheeky Squire’s decision to replace plastic straws with cardboard straws has been applauded by patrons and the venue’s followers on social media, but this is just the start for the Squire’s environmentally savvy crew — they’re assessing their options on other practices. Watch this space.