Big Picture - August 2018 - 2

insight

The Last Straw

o you ever have a random topic repeatedly pop up in your day-to-day life and then, all
of a sudden, it's international news? I'm not sure if it's Big Brother in my Instagram feed
or just how the global grapevine works, but my most recent case of this phenomenon
involves straws.
I was grabbing coffee about a month ago with a friend and she mentioned she forgot
her reusable steel straw. I didn't think much of it other than "That's a cool idea. Good for you for going
green." A few weeks ago at dinner, my water came without a straw. Again, I didn't think much of it, but
my sister asked if she could have one. Our server's response? "We're trying to cut down on the amount
of plastic straws used, so we don't offer them unless someone asks." This weekend I noticed a note
where a handful of cocktail straws typically sits at the bar: "Straws by request only. We're trying to
save the turtles."
So, naturally, what did I see on my Twitter timeline today? Starbucks pledging to eliminate straws
from its stores globally by 2020.
The coffee company with 28,000-plus stores uses 1 billion plastic straws a year. In their place will be
one-piece, recyclable lids or straws made from other materials like metal and paper.
For years we've known plastic straws are not recyclable, with many ending up in our oceans and
beaches, threatening marine wildlife. And yet, Americans use 500 million per day and plastic makes up
99 percent of the global drinking straw market. Change can clearly be difficult; it's not always easy to
shake up the status quo, especially when, for decades, "that's just how things are."
So, what was the literal straw that broke the camel's back and sparked this movement? Was it the
viral video in 2015 of the poor turtle with a straw stuck inside its nose? Is it the ban of single-use plastic
that's now emerging in green-thinking cities? Or, are straws an easy first step toward an overall ban on
plastic? (After all, they aren't a necessity for most people - just a convenience.)
What have you been doing in your shop that you've known for years isn't the most productive, safe,
forward thinking, or sustainable? What is going to be the last straw in your production process that
makes you stop, think, and change?

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Adrienne Palmer
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BIG PICTURE

August 2018

Tedd Swormstedt
President

Steve Duccilli
Senior VP of Content
Christine Baloga
Audience Development Director

BY ADRIENNE PALMER

Michael Pence
Director of Technology

Editor-in-Chief

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Big Picture - August 2018