Toronto startup is now providing reusable straws at cafes around the city
We already know single-use plastic straws are severely harmful to the environment, and one program in Toronto is doing everything they can to prevent residents from using them.
Toronto Eco Straws is a program that provides free, reusable, stainless-steel straws to the patrons of any cafe or restaurant in the city that chooses to participate.
The straws are provided at no cost to the business, and customers are free to keep them. Restaurants and cafes simply put out a donation jar next to the straws and patrons who wish to support the program can donate as much or as little as they please.
"This is our only source of funding; therefore, every donation has a significant impact on the continuity of this program," notes the program's website.
According to the Canadian government, up to 15 billion plastic bags are used every year in Canada and close to 57 million straws are used daily.
And according to the program, one plastic straw can take up to 200 years to decompose.
Toronto Eco Straws aims to curb this issue, and they're not the only ones.
One Toronto family recently launched a paper straw business after noticing how polluted our waters are becoming. And Toronto's first city-wide reusable restaurant takeout container program is set to launch in just a few days.
Coffee And All That Jazz was the first Toronto location to begin providing the free straws in September, and many coffee shops have since joined in on the program.
"Our smallest actions, as tiny as refusing a plastic straw, can have a big impact over time as it becomes a habit," reads a Toronto Eco Straws Instagram post.
"Your efforts are really making a lasting difference," states another.
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