Some of the Gold Coast’s hottest venues ditch plastic straws

THERE’S a massive push to say no to single-use plastics, and three of the Coast’s hottest venues agree — with two only offering metal straws for a rental fee.

Aloha is one Gold Coast bar ditching plastic straws in an environmental move. Jack Connor with cocktail, Return of the Gidget and the environmentally friendly straws. Picture: Jerad Williams

PLASTIC straws suck! That’s the message from some of the Coast’s trendiest bars as they ditch them for the sake of the environment, with some now only offering metal straws — but for a fee.

Sister bars The Cambus Wallace Nobby Beach and The Scottish Prince Palm Beach have banned single-use straws altogether, opting to offer reusable metal straws instead.

But people wanting a straw for their drink have to pay $2.50 for the metal version to either keep or be refunded after use.

“We made the switch to biodegradable straws a while ago but we’ve decided that even that isn’t a big enough change in the right direction, so we’ve ditched disposable straws entirely,” co-owner Dave Ferry said.

Cambus Wallace owner Dave Ferry. Picture: Jerad Williams

“We know some guests are still going to want straws and they can pick up a reusable metal straw for $2.50 from either The Cambus Wallace or The Scottish Prince.

“Guests can even return the straw after they’ve finished to get their money back if they don’t want to keep it.

“We estimate this is going to keep around 90,000 straws out of our landfills and waterways each year.

GET A TABLET WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TO THE GOLD COAST BULLETIN

“We had a customer on Thursday night question why we didn’t have disposable straws and before I had a chance to respond, her friend asserted the importance of the issue and discussed the video of the turtle getting the straw removed from its nose.

“It’s great to be witnessing first-hand the movement behind this cause.”

In April, the UK announced it would be banning sales of all single-use plastics, including cotton swabs, drink stirrers and plastic straws, from as soon as next year. British Prime Minister Theresa May announced the move at a meeting of Commonwealth nations and urged other countries, including Australia, to do the same.

Aloha Bar and Dining is one Gold Coast bar ditching plastic straws. Picture: Jerad Williams

In Australia, supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths will have phased out single-use plastic bags by the end of this month.

Aloha Bar and Dining Broadbeach is another bar dedicated to reducing the estimated 500 million plastic straws that are added to landfill each year by ditching the plastic in favour of biodegradable and metal straws.

“When these biodegradable straws came on the market we jumped straight on it,” owner Tim Glasson said.

“They have an additive that means they start to break down in 18 months and eventually disappear into the environment just like a leaf.

“The bartenders also use metal straws when checking their cocktails, which saves a couple of hundred straws a night.

“The difference in price is negligible. There’s really no reason every venue shouldn’t switch.”