New Castle County Council Recognizes No Straw November

WILMINGTON (10/23/2018 ) – Tonight, New Castle County Council, led by Councilman John Cartier in partnership with Plastic Free Delaware, passed Resolution #R18-183 in recognition of No Straw November in order to raise awareness of the initiative to reduce the use of single-use plastics.  The campaign encourages dining establishments to voluntarily provide plastic straws by-request-only, and seeks to educate the public on issues regarding our “throwaway culture” and encourage citizens to “skip the straw” whenever possible.

Plastic pollution is a visible contributor to the blight along our roadways, in our communities, public spaces, waterways and coastlines.  Americans use an average rate of 1.6 plastic straws per person per day, which equates to over half a billion plastic straws discarded in Delaware each year. Along Delaware’s coastlines, approximately 2,000 straws are found annually during just 3 hours of Coastal Cleanup once a year.  Plastic straws, coffee stirrers and cocktail picks cannot be recycled, and are either discarded in our landfills or in the environment where they harm wildlife and marine animals.  Single-use plastic straws are often provided to consumers regardless of whether they wish to use a straw.  And, non-plastic alternatives for straws, coffee stirrers and cocktail picks are readily available, including those made of paper, pasta, sugar cane, wood, bamboo, metal and glass.

Dee Durham, Chair/Founder of Plastic Free Delaware stated, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Councilman John Cartier and New Castle County Council to raise awareness on the issue of plastic pollution.  Through the initiative begun less than a year ago, Plastic Free Delaware has already documented more than seventy-five Delaware dining establishments that have begun to address the waste caused by plastic straws and to offer straws to customers only upon request.  It’s a Win-Win-Win as they save money on a reduction in purchasing straws, as well as in plumbing calls from clogged drains. And our environment and communities and wildlife also Win”

For more information on the project, visit Plastic Free Delaware at www.PlasticFree Delaware.org