ASHLAND, Ore. — If you’ve gone to Ashland to have a bite to eat in the past couple weeks, you may have noticed something missing. Some restaurants are serving drinks without a straw.
If you ask for a straw, you can still get one, however, it will be either paper or reusable.
The city’s conservation commission says it’s a good way to keep trash from ending up on the ground and in the ecosystem.
“When they get to the landfill, or if for some reason they don’t make it to the landfill and they’re littered somewhere, they will break apart unlike a plastic straw that sticks with us for decades and decades,” explained Roxane Beigel-Coryell with the Ashland Conservation Commission.
As part of the pilot program, participating restaurants keep data on how many straws they use and their costs. The program ends August 14th, but restaurants can continue the change without compiling data.
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