Dubai: Bikers Cafe, Freedom Pizza and The Noodle House are among several popular restaurants in the UAE that have gone strawless and more will follow from next month as part of the Stop Sucking campaign to save oceans.
The world uses one billion unrecyclable plastic straws a day – – an untold number of which end up in the ocean, polluting the water and coastlines and posing a deadly threat to sea turtles and other marine animals.
Straws are one of the most common plastic items volunteers clean from beaches, along with bottles, bags and cups, say conservationists.
UAE’s Gates Hospitality, which has restaurants like Bistro Des Arts, Reform Social & Grill, and Ultra Brasserie in its portfolio, is the latest group to join the worldwide campaign to ditch straws.
“Starting April 1, we will no longer serve drinks with straws. Guests who request a straw will be handed one of our bio-degradable options which are 100 per cent plastic free. In a year’s time we hope to eliminate 81,000 straws,” said Naim Maadad, chief executive of Gates Hospitality.
