Plastic Free July: Stainless steel straws are back in Carson City area restaurants
CARSON CITY — Local non-profit greenUP! is proud to announce its participation in Plastic Free July, an international awareness month focused on the environmental and health impacts of plastic pollution. greenUP! will be sharing Plastic-Free challenges each Wednesday of the month, and they invite the community to join them.
Plastic production has multiplied exponentially over the last twenty years, flooding the market with more plastic products than our waste management systems are prepared to handle.
Much of this recent plastic proliferation has been characterized by plastics with a fleeting lifetime of use. Plastic straws, bags, utensils, and cups, especially, all have an active use time of anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, yet are made of materials that persist in the environment for centuries.
These common single-use plastics, which we don’t have great recycling systems for, are sent almost immediately to our landfills, or worse –– they escape into our environment. These escaped plastics, in particular, pose a risk to human and ecological health due to physical and chemical pollution.
Scientists are also beginning to research possible health implications of microplastics, the product of non-biodegradable plastics breaking into smaller and smaller pieces. Microplastics are being found in land and water systems everywhere, including Lake Tahoe, where they make their way into the global food chain.
greenUP!, along with a growing number of individuals and organizations across the globe, is concerned about the amount of single use plastic pollution scattered throughout our cities and outdoor spaces. “We’re inspired to learn about the ways in which we contribute to the global plastic problem, then practice and get inspired with plastic solutions,” said Sierra Jickling, the Green Dining District intern for greenUP! “We’re using Plastic Free July as a way to challenge ourselves and our community to reduce our personal plastic footprints, and we’re also using it as a way to reenergize the environmental work we do with businesses in our community.” greenUP! Is a local 501(c)3 that helps businesses reduce their environmental footprint.
greenUP! invites all interested community members to follow along with the Plastic Free July challenges, and encourages community members to join their concluding celebration of the awareness month with the launch of a stainless steel straw campaign on Wednesday, July 22.
Customers of the Carson City Green Dining District member-restaurants should keep an eye out for stainless steel reusable straws that will be available for purchase. A list of all Green Dining District restaurants can be found on the greenUP! website by going here.
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