Lake Erie supplies the water we drink. No matter where you live, your life depends on water. Year after year, trash enters our waterways, choking economies, harming wildlife and impacting the health of humans and communities.
Fortunately, this is one environmental issue we can all address. By picking up what’s out there and changing the behaviors that allow trash into the water in the first place, we can support the vision of a trash free Lake. Clean water has so many benefits, from healthy wildlife to strong economies.
The Sustainable Cleveland Plastic Reduction Working Group invites you to join in our Skip the Straw campaign. Through this targeted effort, we hope to prevent millions of plastic straws from entering the Lake. Restaurants, bars and similar establishments can play an important role by reducing the amount of plastic straws that are used by their customers daily.
Skip the Straw simply requests that restaurants refrain from automatically putting a plastic disposable straw in each beverage, but rather allow customers to request a straw if they so desire. Often, customers are content without a straw.
Customers can do their part by only requesting a straw when absolutely necessary.
Watch the video that started the Skip the Straw movement worldwide.
For more information and how to get involved, please contact Cathi Lehn, Sustainable Cleveland Manager at [email protected] . We look forward to partnering with you.
Sustainable Cleveland is Mayor Frank Jackson’s 10-year initiative to build a thriving
Green City on a Blue Lake.
Members of the Plastic Reduction Working Group include:
Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District
Surfrider Foundation Northern Ohio Chapter
City of Cleveland Water Pollution Control
and several concerned citizens of Northeast Ohio……….
Resources
Earth Day Network Toolkits 2018
UN Environment Report: Single Use Plastics: A Roadmap for Sustainability
National Geographic’s Planet or Plastic
Plastic-Free Great Lakes: An Advocacy Toolkit
The Plastics Challenge-White Paper
New Plastics Economy Global Commitment
Aardvark: The Original Paper Straw
Straws in the News in 2018
Plastic Straws Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg
December 27, 2018
CSU Dining will “Skip the Straw” to Reduce Plastic Waste
November 19, 2018
November 18, 2018
November 16, 2018
November 8, 2018
Why the Plastic Straw Ban Kind of Sucks
November 8, 2018
THE LAST STRAW: EU CLAMPS DOWN ON SINGLE-USE PLASTICS POISONING WORLD’S OCEANS
November 4, 2018
Good to the last drop: The drinking straw was invented in Washington
November 3, 2018
Claridge, 3 other hotels to ban plastic straws in 2019
October 30, 2018
Law alumna and activist behind plastic straw ban in California
October 23, 2018
California Becomes First State to Regulate Plastic Straws
September 21, 2018
Local Businesses Slurping Straws Out of Circulation
September 15, 2018
After Plastic Straws, Are Balloons Next to Go?
August 15, 2018
August 1, 2018
Bacardi and Lonely Whale to Remove 1 Billion Plastic Straws to Ensure #TheFutureDoesntSuck
July 13, 2018
Why the World Is Hating on Plastic Straws Right Now
July 12, 2018
Why People With Disabilities Want Bans On Plastic Straws To Be More Flexible
July 11, 2018
Starbucks: Goodbye, Plastic Straws
July 9, 2018
The last straw? Starbucks pledges to eliminate plastic straws globally by 2020
July 9, 2019
10 Most Common Types of Beach Litter Are All Plastic
June 27, 2018
Stop treating Lake Erie like a floating garbage dump
June 24, 2018
Seattle's Ban on Plastic Straws, Utensils Begins July 1
June 20, 2018
June 14, 2018
Last Straw For Plastic Straws? Cities, Restaurants Move To Toss These Sippers
May 31, 2018
5 Eco-Friendly Drinking Straw Alternatives So You Can Skip Plastic
May 28, 2018
EU Proposes a Total Ban on Plastic Forks and Other Products
May 28, 2018
The Death of the Plastic Straw
May 16, 2018
White Sox Become First MLB Team to Ban Plastic Straws
May 8, 2018
World's First Collapsible, Reusable Straw Fits Right On Your Keychain
April 24, 2018
The Last Straw? EU Official Hints Ban on Single-Use Plastic Across Europe
February 23, 2018
Taiwan Announces Ban on All Plastic Bags, Straws, and Utensils
February 22, 2018
The war on plastic: South African seafood restaurant chain bans drinking straws
January 17, 2018
The last straw? Soon hopefully
January 12, 2018