Plastic Straws

"It's just one straw" - said 3.5 billion people. 
Did you know Australians use about 10 million straws every day, or 3.5 billion a year?

An audit conducted by the Boomerang Alliance has shown that if a café only provides straws on request, straw use can plummet by about 80%.

You can create change in your community by saying no to single-use straws or replacing them with a sustainable alternative. 

The Problem

Depite being plastic, most recycling facilities do not accept plastic straws. Due to their size, they just fall off the conveyor belts and onto the recycling plant floors, where they are sent to landfill.

Many cafes now stock so-called ‘eco straws’. Although these are often advertised as being biodegradable, they are not*. They are oxo-degradable like some plastic bags and will not fully decompose. They are more of a threat to wildlife than standard plastic and need to be avoided.

We recognise that some people with a disability need straws and we support straws being available for them.

*The ACCC recently determined that oxo-degradable straws did not meet biodegradable or compostable standards. 

What can you do?

List of Services

 

Great Initiative

STRAWKling

One of our awesome Allies Operation Straw runs STRAWKling events. It's a snorkeling clean up designed to find plastic straws.

Click below to learn more. 
STRAWKling

More Actions You Can Take

Srunch your soft plastics

If it's soft, it's plastic and you can scrunch it in your hand - it can be recycled via REDcycle.

Learn More