Restaurants embrace change to paper straws

Ami Rae, owner of The Backyard restaurant in Milton, prides herself on her environmentally friendly operation.

But one area she could never get a handle on was the plastic straws in the drinks she served. One day she saw a Facebook post from a friend in Florida that showed thousands of straws from a nearby restaurant in the water. Rae said her friend started picking them up and showed them to the restaurant ownership, leading them to switch to paper straws.

Rae said that inspired her to try paper straws. Starting in March, The Backyard began transitioning to paper straws for all drinks. Some plastic cocktail straws are still in use, but Rae said once they are gone, they will not come back.

"We need to move toward this because straws are so hard to recycle," she said. "Since then, we've found they are so hard to get ahold of because the companies that make them [paper straws] can't keep up with the demand."

Unlike plastic straws, paper straws are biodegradable. Rae said plastic straws could be recycled but they are so light, they often do not make it through the recycling process.

"They're too small for the recyclers to handle, so they are ending up in the oceans," Rae said.

She recalled a trip to the Bahamas, near Rum Cay, where one side of the island was covered with plastic trash from cruise ships. The main impediment to paper straws, Rae said, is cost. She said plastic straws cost slightly less than a penny apiece. Paper straws, on the other hand, cost 5 to 8 cents per straw.

"It is significantly more expensive to use paper," she said. "I really wish I owned a paper straw company. I'd be really rich right now."

The Backyard is not alone in making the move toward paper straws.

Big Chill Beach Club near Indian River Inlet went to paper straws when it opened for the season in April. Brand Manager Matt Garbutt said the club uses a by-request system intended to cut down on the use of straws and the effect of plastic straws on the ocean environment. Garbutt said the brain trust of La Vida Hospitality, which owns Big Chill Beach Club, are all into surfing and sailing and wanted to minimize the impact on the ocean.

"It was important to do it regardless because the beach is less than 50 feet away from our restaurant," Garbutt said. "For us, there is a high probability a straw will end up in the water."

He said there has been some trial and error to find the right straw manufacturer, but overall, customers have been receptive to the change. While paper straws are more expensive, Garbutt said the hope is that most people will choose not to use straws, mitigating the cost.

Big Chill Beach Club has been using paper straws as a pilot program with the possibility that all La Vida Hospitality restaurants - including Crooked Hammock, Big Chill Cantina, and Fork and Flask - will eventually switch to paper.

Chains like Greene Turtle have gone to paper, and Starbucks announced July 9 that it was phasing out plastic straws. Dewey Beach restaurants such as Bottle & Cork and the Starboard took part in a No Straw Bar Crawl June 30.

Alex Pires, owner of Jimmy's Grille, Rusty Rudder, Northbeach, Ivy and the Bottle and Cork, said all his restaurants have moved to paper straws with the long-term goal of going strawless.

Rehoboth Beach Public Library is hosting a screening of the film "Straws," at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, July 26.

The film is about plastic straw litter and its effect on the marine environment.

"I think people are getting much more conscious. It is probably the cause du jour. But I think ultimately it is going to be such a good thing for the environment," Rae said.

She’s hoping that as more restaurants move to paper straws, more companies will begin producing paper straws, bringing down the cost.

“Right now, there’s only a few companies that are really, really good at it,” Rae said.

Rae has experimented with different companies to determine quality. She said some early straws either degraded too easily in water or customers did not like the way the straw made drinks taste.

“People have such strong feelings. Sometimes it’s very, very bad. Others, it’s, ‘Good for you!’” Rae said.

Still, Rae doesn’t regret switching.

“I’m happy to jump on the bandwagon,” she said.