Oregon Straws Upon Request

Both globally and locally in Oregon, plastic straws are among the top 10 most commonly found item during beach cleanups. In the last 10 years, more than 4 million straws and stirrers have been removed during the International Coastal Cleanup. We use a straw for less than an hour, but that straw persists in the environment for longer than our lifetime. In 2015, researchers found that at least 690 species worldwide on land and sea have encountered marine debris and 92% of encounters were with plastic. Based on data and feedback from our DitchTheStrawPDX program which partners with businesses on voluntary ask first straw policies, through simply asking the customer we stand to reduce the number of straws used by anywhere from 40-60% at a given establishment - which can scale to a reduction of millions of straws a year in Oregon. SB 90 and HB 2760 would advance simple legislation with a powerful impact on reducing plastic pollution. 

UPDATE: SB 90 passed, however did not receive Surfrider's support due to a “preemption” clause, which effectively removes home rule, disallowing local governemnts from passing more comprehenisve plastic straw policies. This industry preemption strategy ultimately does more to ensure straws have a market place than to keep them out of the environment - more on the Oregon bill here and the general preemption industry strategy here. 

This not only creates a positive impact on the environment, but saves the business money as well. To ground truth this, Surfrider Foundation’s Portland and Newport Chapters launched Ditch the Straw Programs in 2017 and have worked with more than 150 businesses to switch to a straws upon request policy. Both Chapters are taking a business-first approach and have received extremely positive responses from businesses and individuals. The program was met with such success, it led to a Portland city ordinance.

Here is some real data from #DitchTheStrawPDX businesses who have already moved to straws upon request:

● Portland Spirit estimated between 8,000-10,000 straws avoided per year through the change to straws upon request.
● New Seasons reports preventing over 100,000 straws by removing them from all of their coffee and smoothie bars in Portland.
● Porque No has dropped from using 32,000 straws per month to 2,000 per month.
● Besaws saw about an 80% drop in their straw usage and they now have reusable straws for their employees as well.
● Mad Hanna reported $1,000 in cost savings between May and November 2018.