The Town of New Paltz Environmental Conservation Board commends the New Paltz High School seniors for convincing town and village board members to pass resolutions aimed at reducing plastic straw use in our restaurants. An estimated 500 million straws are being used daily in the United States. Except for people with medical needs, straws are not needed to consume beverages or water. Most of the time, plastic straws are not recyclable. While a portion of the straws are landfilled, where it may take centuries for them to break down, many end up littering the landscape, polluting our waterways and impacting wildlife. A number of cities in the United States are stepping up pressure on businesses and consumers to ditch this plastic accessory because of the pollution it causes: Malibu, Davis and San Luis Obispo in California, Fort Meyers and Miami Beach in Florida, and Seattle, Washington, have banned or limited the use of plastic straws in restaurants.
The board would like to build on the work begun by our students. On Earth Day (April 22 ) please meet us at 2 p.m. in front of the Commissary at 11 Church Street in New Paltz, to initiate a Plastic Straw Challenge to restaurants and bars. Along with local students and other community members, we will request these businesses to undertake at least one of the following:
- elimination of straws completely
- providing a statement on menus that straws are available upon request
- offering straws only when requested by a customer
- stocking either biodegradable or reusable straws.
The board will also be requesting that our local supermarkets carry non-plastic straw alternatives. There are many options to the plastic straw, a listing of these products can be found at: https://thelastplasticstraw.org/resources/.
We ask the community to help the effort by asking bars and restaurants to “skip the straw,” and in encouraging these businesses to join the challenge. Concerned shoppers should also seek alternatives to plastic straws when buying groceries. If your market doesn’t have environmentally preferable options, ask them to. If your grocery or favorite restaurant has alternatives to the plastic straw, by all means, commend them!
Together, we can all stop sucking once and for all. Join us in helping the earth on April 22!
Environmental Conservation Board
Town of New Paltz
Can we please address plastic bags?
They hang from trees. They clog drain grates. They float in our rivers, lakes and streams. They dangle from light posts, antennas, shrubs. The blow alongside our roads and highways. You see birds and wildlife with them stuck around their legs and once even over one’s head.
Plastic bags are the largest source of plastic pollution in the United States.
Plastic bags are the lazy solution to carrying your groceries, body lotion, light bulbs and anything else you buy.
if you are a plastic bag supporter you are the problem.
Ban plastic bags.
The device you used to post your comment is made of plastic
Your logic:
All communication devices contain plastic.
You’re using a communication device.
Anyone who makes use of plastic in any way cannot seek to reduce plastic waste.
Ergo, stfu.
Anyone who makes use of plastic in any way cannot seek to reduce plastic waste. Ergo, stfu.
My apology, sir!
The reply above is ‘educated stupidity’ at its Trumpest…
1. Outlaw ‘petrochemical~plastic~bags’ is “correct” wording.
1a. Cellulose plastic, is eatable & biodegradable.
2. Ban all petrochemical~pesticides…
They like the plastic~bags & hormones in the beef, are what has become known as socially acceptable genocides.
3. Declare Kingstone GREEN by the letter of incorporation laws, or this the evangelical Corporate Ghost Person the Public of this RePublic?
Happy 420 Have the Liberals in New Paltz Gotten Legal Weed Yet?
Want some issues worth protesting, start with the cops arresting people in your town for weed. How insane is that?
Hows the weed in New Paltz, any Collectives yet? ???
Go protest Your drinking straws, how funny……
Are the new Paltz Liberals actually this far out, protesting a straw? Grow up.
Nobody’s protesting drinking straws. You’re an idiot.
Hey 420, you’re Nick Pubs, aren’t you? I can smell you a mile away.