SINGAPORE: More than 270 food and beverage (F&B) outlets in Singapore will phase out plastic straws by Jul 1, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) announced on Monday (Jun 3).
Participating F&B outlets will be removing straws completely from their premises, providing them only on request or for specific medical reasons, WWF said in a media release.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThis includes 53 F&B outlets owned by Accor Group, which operates hotels like Raffles, Swissotel and Fairmont, 24 Pastamania outlets, dozens of outlets operated by Wildlife Reserves Singapore and 15 eateries under the Spa Espirit Group including Tiong Bahru Bakery and 40 Hands.
"This is the largest industry commitment so far that addresses the excessive use of plastic disposables in Singapore," said Ms Lotika Mehta, campaigns manager of WWF-Singapore.
[h=3]READ: Straws made of rice have debuted in Singapore – could they save the earth?[/h][h=3]READ: A commentary on what it will take for Singapore to give up plastic[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisementThe move is part of the PACT (Plastic ACTion) initiative by WWF, which is supported by the National Environment Agency and Zero Waste SG.
An estimated 2.2 million straws are consumed per day by Singaporeans, according to a 2018 report by AlphaBeta, The Final Straw and the Cyan Project.
"Straws are a starting point in the move to reducing overall use of plastics by businesses. WWF and Zero Waste SG will continue to work with the F&B industry to reduce unnecessary plastics such as stirrers, cutlery and plastic bottles while working on measures and innovations to tackle the plastic problem," said WWF in the release.
Singapore consumes about 1.76 billion plastic items each year, according to Singapore Environment Council’s position paper published in 2018. This includes 820 million plastic bags from supermarkets, 467 million PET bottles and 473 million plastic disposable items.
"This is a great example of voluntary action by businesses, and while we work with the group on next steps, we encourage more brands to join the effort," said Kim Stengert, WWF-Singapore's Chief of Strategic Communication and External Relations.
[h=3]READ: Skipping plastic straws might not do much to stop marine pollution, experts say[/h][h=3]READ: IKEA to stop selling single-use plastic products by 2020[/h]According to Singstat, there were more than 7,500 food establishments in Singapore in 2016, - the 270 outlets participating in PACT comprise about 3.5 per cent of the total number.
Several companies announced plans to eliminate plastic straws last year, including KFC, Starbucks, Burger King and Resorts World Sentosa.
PACT was launched by WWF in 2019 with the aim of “No Plastics in Nature” by 2030. Participating businesses pledge to remove unnecessary plastics while reviewing product design or switching to sustainable alternatives.
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...