In a bid to boost their sustainability, colleges across the U.S. are taking a stand against plastic straws. Here’s a look at some schools that have banned or reduced the items in campus foodservice.
1. University of Portland
The Portland, Ore., school took the plunge in April, banning plastic straws at all campus foodservice locations. To help with the transition, 400 stainless steel straws were given to students and paper straw dispensers were put in place around the Oregon campus. Previously, the school had been using around 9,000 plastic straws each month, according to a press release.
2. Dartmouth College
The Hanover, N.H., college recently replaced plastic straws on campus with red-and-white paper versions, a move that’s “a small step but a very important one,” its associate director of dining services, Don Reed, told The Dartmouth. Though the switch has not been entirely smooth—there were reports of students hoarding straws from off-campus eateries—Reed believes it will be more readily accepted in the future.
3. Knox College
The Galesburg, Ill., college also made the move to paper straws in April. “It has been a successful switch and an easy step to reducing the impact that the Knox community has on our global environment,” Director of Sustainability Initiatives Deborah Steinberg said in a press release.
4. Chico State
Last month, the Chico, Calif., school began selling reusable straw kits as part of a “strawless challenge” on campus. The kits, which were made by student staff at Sutter Dining, included a metal straw as well as a straw cleaner, according to the school’s news outlet, The Orion. Staff ran out of the kits, which sold for $1.25, in under 3 days.
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