Strawless Summer was a slamming success.
During Summer of 2018, Surfrider Foundation’s Eastern Long Island chapter joined the worldwide movement to make plastic straws an item of the past. At one beach cleanup in Greenport, the Eastern Long Island Chapter removed 922 straws from the beach. If you are not convinced that straws can cause harm in the marine environment, watch this video of a sea turtle with a straw in its nose.
The goal of this program was to reduce the number of plastic straws used in restaurants in Eastern Long Island.
Thanks to our partners, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, and Group for the East End, and later, Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn this program was a slamming success that led to a ban on plastic straws altogether in Suffolk County as of Earth Day, 2019. Read more here.
Thanks to the Suffolk County Law banning plastic straws, Surfrider Foundation Eastern Long Island will no longer be promoting a Strawless Summer.
RESTAURANTS PLEDGED TO:
-
- Go completely Strawless
- Provide biodegradable (paper, bamboo) straws only upon request OR
- Provide reusable alternatives to plastic (stainless steel)
PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS:
If you are viewing on a mobile device, turn your screen sideways to see full map details.
Here is a complete list of all participants:
Restaurants:
- Provisions
- Left Hand Coffee
- Left Hand Coffee & Bakery
- The Montauk Beach House
- Canal Cafe
- Long Island Aquarium
- Almond
- Westlake Fish House
- Pierre’s
- Pierre’s Market
- Dockside Bar & Grill
- Little Creek Oyster Farm & Market
- Oaklands Restaurant and Marina
- Page at 63 Main
- The Surf Lodge
- Mambo Kitchen
- Bell & Anchor
- Little Red
- Sundays On The Bay
- Peconic Cellar Door
- Claude’s
- Bay Kitchen Bar
- Tutto Il Giorno
- Southampton Publick House
- C’est Cheese
- RUMBA Inspired Island Cuisine & Rum Bar
- Calissa
- Topping Rose House
- Good Libations Food Truck
- Coopers Beach Concession
- The Purple Elephant
- Coopers Beach Concession
- Nicky’s on the Bay
- La Sirena Food Wagon
- Food & Co Catering
- Hooked
- Amber Waves Farm
- Crazy Beans
- The Preston House & Hotel
- Seaside Grill
- Pentimento
- Grindstone Coffee & Donuts
- Sen Japanese Restaurant
- Lulu Kitchen & Bar
- Hamptons Coffee Company – Water Mill
- Hamptons Coffee Company – Southampton
- Hamptons Coffee Company – Westhampton Beach
- Hamptons Coffee Company – Aquebogue
- Post Office Cafe
- Hatch
- Southside Restaurant
- Mirabelle
- Maxwell’s
- Lulu Kitchen & Bar
- Sen Japanese Restaurant
- Finnegans
- View Restaurant
Schools & Camps:
58. Hampton Bays Middle School
59. Hampton Bays High School
58. Southampton Fresh Air Home
RESTAURANTS, WHAT WE PROMISED:
By participating in the 2018 Strawless Summer, your business will be aligned with the Surfrider brand. Right when your restaurant signs up to participate in the Strawless Summer, we will give you a window decal, take a photo with the owner or manager to be posted on social media.
- Website & Social Media: We plan to use our reach to promote your restaurant to our followers. Your restaurant will be placed on the interactive map on our website, which will link directly to your website & menu.
- Window Decal: Surfrider will provide you with a peel-off window decal that states you are participating in the 2018 Strawless Summer, and if desired, we will also provide you with literature to answer questions for
- Local Media: Additional articles and press releases about the Strawless Summer 2018 participants will be completed as time and availability allow.
- Chapter Loyalty: Our chapter is always looking for places to host meetings and events, so restaurants who are making strides towards preventing plastic pollution on our fragile coast line will always be given priority.
VOLUNTEERS, “Volunteer Resources”
The success of this movement depends on help from volunteers. We need people like YOU to help the Chapter get restaurants to pledge and participate in Strawless Summer. Visit the “Volunteer Resources” folder above for everything needed to get a restaurant to pledge. When going about your day-to-day remember to remind your server, “No straw, Please!” You can also Sign this Petition asking East End restaurant supplier to provide alternatives to plastic straws.
IN THE PRESS:
- News 12 “Go Green: 3 steps to a cleaner beach”
- Hamptons.com “Surfrider Foundation Championing A “Strawless Summer” In The Hamptons”
- East Hampton Star “Surfrider to Launch ‘Strawless Summer'”, “Waging a War on Straws”
- The Independent “Stoked for a Strawless Summer”
- Sag Harbor Express “Surfrider’s ‘Strawless Summer’ Campaign Picks Up Momentum”
- Southampton Press “Local Restaurants Ditch Plastic Straws As Part Of Surfrider Foundation Campaign”
- Hamptons.com “Strawless Summer Continues With East End “Straws” Screenings”
- Avenue Magazine “Endless Summer”
- Port Jefferson Patch “C’est-ing No To Single-Use Plastic Straws”
Press about Strawless Suffolk:
- News 12 Long Island: “Suffolk effort aims to draw straws out of circulation”
- Port Jefferson Patch: “A Push in Suffolk to Declare Independence from Plastic Straws”
- CBS New York: “Long Island Looks To End Plastic Straw Use”
- WCBS News Radio 880: “Call For Limits On Plastic Straws In Suffolk”
- View full press conference here, courtesy of News 12 Long Island “Suffolk officials announce new strawless campaign”
- Suffolk Times “County Introduces ‘Strawless Suffolk’ initiative”
ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
LINKS TO OUR FAVORITE ALTERNATIVES:
- The Paper Straw Girl: The Paper Straw Girl supplies straws exclusively for New York, and is willing to work with restaurants to work paper straws into their business plan! thepaperstrawgirl.com
- Aardvark: Is the biggest paper distributor of straws and has a longstanding relationship with Surfrider. They have a discount program for restaurants that sign up through a Surfrider program www.aardvarkstraws.com
- Simply straws: Offers glass, paper, and stainless steel straws. www.simplystraws.com
- Harvest Straws: Straws made from grain! www.harveststraws.com
- Klean Kanteen: Stainless steel reusable straws www.kleankanteen.com/collections/accessories
- koffiestraw: Silicone straw which works great for hot beverages www.koffiestraw.com/pages/about-us-v2
- Other great resources can be found at The Last Plastic Straw www.thelastplasticstraw.org/resources
- YES Straws: https://yesstraws.com/blogs/news/19-plastic-straw-alternatives
A NOTE ON BIOPLASTICS:
While many companies are coming up with solutions to plastic pollution by introducing “compostable” and “biodegradable” bioplastics, very few if any of these new products actually degrade in the natural environment.” The BAN List 2.0 study tested a bioplastic straw’s marine degradability and found that the straw was entirely intact after 2 years in the ocean.
STRAWLESS SUMMER IS BEING DONE IN COALITION WITH:
Are you interested in starting a similar movement in your community? Check out Surfrider Foundation’s “Plastic Straws Suck” Activist Toolkit for all you need to know to help continue this world-wide movement.