Grant: 18-030E
Project Title: Introducing a Straw-On-Demand Program in Florida Coastal Restaurants
Project Manager: Stacey Marquis
Organization: Sea Turtle Conservancy (Non-Profit Organization)
Grant Amount: $13,500.00
Completion Date: 2020-01-03
Summary: To address the mounting impact of marine debris on sea turtles, STC will conduct a far-reaching, year-long conservation stewardship campaign that will reduce plastic waste produced by restaurants and change ingrained behaviors among Floridians to slow the flood of single-use plastics. STC will work with at least 50 restaurants along the east coast of Florida to adopt a straw-on-demand policy, through which straws are only offered to customers upon request, with an emphasis placed on replacing plastic straws with paper options. STC will provide signage that can be displayed strategically in the restaurant and biodegradable coasters for tables that explain the policy to customers. These materials will help to ensure that guests will be exposed to this conservation message and will encourage them to learn more about marine debris and how they can change their behavior. To further educate the public about this program, STC will create a page on its website that will explain what the straw-on-demand program is, how customers can get their local restaurants involved, and give recognition to restaurants participating in the program. Plastic straws are considered a gateway plastic, meaning that once a person finds an alternative to using plastic straws, he or she may rethink using other single-use plastics. STC will work to reduce the amount of plastic that can end up on important Florida sea turtle habitat, save restaurants money, and empower Floridians to start by making small behavioral changes to reduce the impacts of plastics in the marine environment.
Results: As the pilot year of the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s (STC) straw program comes to an end, it is evident that STC has achieved its goal of reducing straw consumption at coastal restaurants and inspiring restaurant owners and guests to reduce single-use plastics in their daily lives. In total, STC pitched the straw program to 913 coastal restaurants in Florida through email, over the phone and in person. At the close of the grant, STC exceeded its goal of converting straw policies at 50 coastal restaurants; a total of 69 restaurants are now participating, with 54 restaurants being on the east coast of Florida. STC distributed a total of 6,160 educational coasters and 770 signs at participating restaurants, ensuring that thousands of restaurant customers were exposed to the idea that their plastic consumption has an impact on sea turtles, and that there are steps that they can take to reduce that impact. By pitching in person, STC was only able to visit around 15 to 20 restaurants per day, and restaurant owners or managers were often not available to talk because they were busy with customers. Through email, STC was able to contact around 100 restaurants at a time about the program. By emailing a detailed explanation of the straw program, sending links to STC’s online restaurant map and attaching photos of participating restaurants, decision makers were also able to learn about the program and explain it to their employees at their own pace before officially joining. Because of this, STC did not travel to pitch to restaurants in person during this reporting period. Throughout the project, STC contacted a total of 852 restaurants through email or over the phone and 61 restaurants in person to join its straw program. STC mailed 1,860 “Save me, Go Straw Free” coasters and 320 “Where are the Straws?” signs to participating restaurants. STC also distributed coasters and signs at community events, the Florida Marine Turtle Permit Holder Meeting and the International Sea Turtle Symposium in Charleston, South Carolina. When pitching to restaurants through email, STC included its “5 Reasons to go Strawless” flyer, “How to Join STC’s Straw Program” guide, and pictures of participating restaurants.