Ontario County is launching a new initiative this week aimed at reducing the number of plastic straws that are being thrown away.
The county is launching a campaign called Every Sip Counts, with officials noting that it is estimated as many as 390-million plastic straws get thrown away every day in the U.S. and it takes a straw 200 years to break down.
The new initiative encourages restaurants to ask customers to request a straw instead of providing one to them automatically.
Canandaigua-based New York Kitchen is helping the county promote the new campaign.
The local non-profit provides classes on cooking and also has a restaurant.
Its executive director, Alyssa Belasco said that their restaurant was already using paper straws.
“So, we were already taking that step,” noted Belasco. “And it just made sense to take it even further and eliminate providing a straw automatically to the, to the customer. And so that's kind of why we jumped on board right away. And sustainability is one of our core values. So it makes perfect sense.”
Belasco believes that most customers won’t have any problem with not automatically being given a straw.
“I think that this initiative will really have a great impact. And it's not a ban, it's optional, and it's an opt in approach that I think will take some time for the community to adapt to. But I think that really quickly, it'll everyone will be on board,” Belasco said.
Carla Jordan is the Director of the Ontario County Department of Sustainability & Solid Waste Management. She said that many residents “already have stopped behaviors like skipping the straw or using reusable utensils when they are out.”
The new effort to reduce the number of plastic straws that are being thrown away will kick off at New York Kitchen on Friday afternoon, Feb. 24.
