Michigan residents react to the Seattle straw ban
Each year millions of pounds of plastic waste ends up in the Great Lakes.
By Mikhayla Dunaj
Recycling to save the planet may not be a new concept, but the ways in which people approach it every year can be.
In early July, Seattle made headlines by enacting a ban preventing restaurants from providing customers with plastic straws or utensils. Seattle became the first major city in the U.S. to do so. Although this action came after nearly 10 years of plastic prevention in public dining tactics from the city, it created a movement and conversation that spread across the country.
Western Michigan University paper engineering senior Tommy Anderson witnessed this new recycling trend while in Washington this summer.
“In general, the shops you would go into and stuff, I would say, had a greater consciousness of it (recycling),” Anderson said. “You wouldn’t get lids with the cups unless you asked for it sometimes. There were more paper products being used for receptacles rather than plastic, which I thought was cool. Not that plastic isn’t recyclable, but generally paper is a renewable resource so it’s easier to use that rather than plastic. I saw more of that than I have here (in Michigan).”
Anderson lived in Tacoma, Wash. from May to August while interning at a WestRock paper mill. He noticed the difference in recycling attitudes during his trips to Seattle this summer.
Anderson said he follows the recycling habits he picked up from his parents and has always tried to make an effort to be more conscious of recycling paper products.
"Working in a recycle paper mill, you can literally see there is a big bail of cardboard and we’re going to turn that into paper,” Anderson said. “Knowing what it’s used for and understanding how that process works and all the stuff that goes into sorting it, I have a larger appreciation for it.”
While there was enthusiastic support from the Seattle and Tacoma communities regarding the straw ban, Anderson recalled some negative feedback questioned the difference it would make. He said he also felt that way about it at first.
“It is a small piece of the puzzle, which if you want to promote a real change you probably want to go after something bigger, but I think with any movement like that, you’ve got to start somewhere,” Anderson said.
Anderson recalled for the first time acknowledging the fact that “people out there (in Washington) are trying to make a change more so than they are here” in Michigan.
“The community at large was a lot more active in promoting that change,” Anderson said.
While Kalamazoo, Mich. does not have a straw ban in place, some individual restaurants are making an effort to approach things in a sustainable manner. For example, HopCat has been using corn-based straws for nearly five years, said Carrie Veldman, sustainability and philanthropy manager of BarFly Ventures, HopCat’s parent company.
“The decision was made because we were not comfortable with the fact that all plastic straws end up in landfill,” Veldman said in an email. “We were working on trying to minimize the percentage of our waste stream that goes to landfill or incinerator, and this was one of the single-use items that we knew we could replace with a renewable alternative. Since we have composting programs in all locations, we can also actually compost these straws after they are used.”
HopCat functions as a craft beer bar, and Veldman said most customers will drink a beer and a water when they visit.
“For most people, neither of these require a straw, so we just stopped handing them out to every single guest,” Veldman said. “We've found that most don't even notice. However, we will always have compostable straws on hand for any guest that needs or prefers one.”
Although HopCat has approached the straw issue with a successful alternative, Veldman doesn’t see the Seattle straw ban making its way to Michigan any time soon.
She also said she disagrees with it being the best way to handle the problem because it could lead to some restaurants, hotels and gas stations opting not to carry any kind of straw at all. Veldman said this creates problems for those with a disability, either because they are not able pick up a cup to drink or because they cannot take care of a reusable straw.
“While many might argue that those [who] need straws could just purchase a reusable metal or glass straw to carry with them, this still doesn't work for everyone,” Veldman said. “Cleaning reusable straws requires steady hands. Someone with Parkinson's may have difficulty with both drinking without a straw and cleaning a reusable straw. Moving away from oil-derived single use items is important, but we need to consider how these changes will affect each population before making them law to provide a truly sustainable solution.”
Jeff Spoelstra, director of the Western Michigan University Office for Sustainability, agreed no laws are likely to be put in place in Michigan soon, but he said he believes Kalamazoo is “doing the best it can” regarding focus on sustainability.
“I think it does better than most cities of its size,” Spoelstra said.
While Spoelstra acknowledged that the straw ban will not solve all plastic-littering problems, he thought it was a good start for tackling larger issues.
“It gets people thinking about things like disposable plates, Styrofoam takeout containers and disposable silverware — anything that gets people to question the norm is fair game,” Spoelstra said. “Just the act of trying is an act, even if it fails the first time or fails for a couple of years. (It) doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth taking a crack at it.”
As for other ways to address the bigger issue of sustainability at hand, Spoelstra recommended expanding beyond the three R’s rule of sustainability — reduce, reuse, recycle — by adding refuse and repurpose to that list.
“Refuse: say you don’t want a straw in the first place,” Spoelstra said.
Spoelstra said that he hopes to see people moving out of just a recycling focus when they approach sustainability. He said that people do not question their consumptions patterns enough.
“The real problem is we have no idea where stuff comes from, what it’s made of, where it goes when we’re done with it, how it rots and breaks down (or) whether it could have been reused,” Spoelstra said. “People really just don’t think that way. There are people who do, but there aren’t enough of them. I would say we need more people working on more diverse subjects than just plastics.”
Spoelstra said everyone needs to work on all fronts to solve the greater issues regarding the sustainability of the planet.
“Is a straw ban addressing the really big problem? No,” Spoelstra said. “But, is it addressing a problem? Sure.”
Recycling to save the planet may not be a new concept, but the ways in which people approach it every year can be.
In early July, Seattle made headlines by enacting a ban preventing restaurants from providing customers with plastic straws or utensils. Seattle became the first major city in the U.S. to do so. Although this action came after nearly 10 years of plastic prevention in public dining tactics from the city, it created a movement and conversation that spread across the country.
Western Michigan University paper engineering senior Tommy Anderson witnessed this new recycling trend while in Washington this summer.
“In general, the shops you would go into and stuff, I would say, had a greater consciousness of it (recycling),” Anderson said. “You wouldn’t get lids with the cups unless you asked for it sometimes. There were more paper products being used for receptacles rather than plastic, which I thought was cool. Not that plastic isn’t recyclable, but generally paper is a renewable resource so it’s easier to use that rather than plastic. I saw more of that than I have here (in Michigan).”
Anderson lived in Tacoma, Wash. from May to August while interning at a WestRock paper mill. He noticed the difference in recycling attitudes during his trips to Seattle this summer.
Anderson said he follows the recycling habits he picked up from his parents and has always tried to make an effort to be more conscious of recycling paper products.
"Working in a recycle paper mill, you can literally see there is a big bail of cardboard and we’re going to turn that into paper,” Anderson said. “Knowing what it’s used for and understanding how that process works and all the stuff that goes into sorting it, I have a larger appreciation for it.”
While there was enthusiastic support from the Seattle and Tacoma communities regarding the straw ban, Anderson recalled some negative feedback questioned the difference it would make. He said he also felt that way about it at first.
“It is a small piece of the puzzle, which if you want to promote a real change you probably want to go after something bigger, but I think with any movement like that, you’ve got to start somewhere,” Anderson said.
Anderson recalled for the first time acknowledging the fact that “people out there (in Washington) are trying to make a change more so than they are here” in Michigan.
“The community at large was a lot more active in promoting that change,” Anderson said.
While Kalamazoo, Mich. does not have a straw ban in place, some individual restaurants are making an effort to approach things in a sustainable manner. For example, HopCat has been using corn-based straws for nearly five years, said Carrie Veldman, sustainability and philanthropy manager of BarFly Ventures, HopCat’s parent company.
“The decision was made because we were not comfortable with the fact that all plastic straws end up in landfill,” Veldman said in an email. “We were working on trying to minimize the percentage of our waste stream that goes to landfill or incinerator, and this was one of the single-use items that we knew we could replace with a renewable alternative. Since we have composting programs in all locations, we can also actually compost these straws after they are used.”
HopCat functions as a craft beer bar, and Veldman said most customers will drink a beer and a water when they visit.
“For most people, neither of these require a straw, so we just stopped handing them out to every single guest,” Veldman said. “We've found that most don't even notice. However, we will always have compostable straws on hand for any guest that needs or prefers one.”
Although HopCat has approached the straw issue with a successful alternative, Veldman doesn’t see the Seattle straw ban making its way to Michigan any time soon.
She also said she disagrees with it being the best way to handle the problem because it could lead to some restaurants, hotels and gas stations opting not to carry any kind of straw at all. Veldman said this creates problems for those with a disability, either because they are not able pick up a cup to drink or because they cannot take care of a reusable straw.
“While many might argue that those [who] need straws could just purchase a reusable metal or glass straw to carry with them, this still doesn't work for everyone,” Veldman said. “Cleaning reusable straws requires steady hands. Someone with Parkinson's may have difficulty with both drinking without a straw and cleaning a reusable straw. Moving away from oil-derived single use items is important, but we need to consider how these changes will affect each population before making them law to provide a truly sustainable solution.”
Jeff Spoelstra, director of the Western Michigan University Office for Sustainability, agreed no laws are likely to be put in place in Michigan soon, but he said he believes Kalamazoo is “doing the best it can” regarding focus on sustainability.
“I think it does better than most cities of its size,” Spoelstra said.
While Spoelstra acknowledged that the straw ban will not solve all plastic-littering problems, he thought it was a good start for tackling larger issues.
“It gets people thinking about things like disposable plates, Styrofoam takeout containers and disposable silverware — anything that gets people to question the norm is fair game,” Spoelstra said. “Just the act of trying is an act, even if it fails the first time or fails for a couple of years. (It) doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth taking a crack at it.”
As for other ways to address the bigger issue of sustainability at hand, Spoelstra recommended expanding beyond the three R’s rule of sustainability — reduce, reuse, recycle — by adding refuse and repurpose to that list.
“Refuse: say you don’t want a straw in the first place,” Spoelstra said.
Spoelstra said that he hopes to see people moving out of just a recycling focus when they approach sustainability. He said that people do not question their consumptions patterns enough.
“The real problem is we have no idea where stuff comes from, what it’s made of, where it goes when we’re done with it, how it rots and breaks down (or) whether it could have been reused,” Spoelstra said. “People really just don’t think that way. There are people who do, but there aren’t enough of them. I would say we need more people working on more diverse subjects than just plastics.”
Spoelstra said everyone needs to work on all fronts to solve the greater issues regarding the sustainability of the planet.
“Is a straw ban addressing the really big problem? No,” Spoelstra said. “But, is it addressing a problem? Sure.”