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Wetherspoon pub chain to ditch plastic straws
British pub chain JD Wetherspoon is to stop using plastic straws across its 900 pubs in the UK and Republic of Ireland by the end of this year.
All 900 of JD Wetherspoon pubs will stop using plastic straws by the end of 2017With immediate effect, straws will no longer be automatically added to drinks, although they remain available if requested by customers.
From January 2018, all of the company’s venues will use biodegradable paper straws.
“These changes are part of an overall commitment from the company to reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste produced,” said John Hutson, Wetherspoon chief executive.
“We believe that Wetherspoon pub-goers will welcome this.”
Labour shadow environment minister Holly Lynch, added: “This is a really welcome announcement by one of the country’s most prominent pub chains. It is great to see them taking a lead on tackling avoidable plastic waste.
“Globally over 500 million straws are thrown away every day with almost all of them ending up in landfill, being incinerated, or in our waterways, seas and oceans.
“I’m calling on more pubs and restaurants to join this growing campaign which has widespread public support. Working together on this we can make a real difference towards tackling the problem of single use plastics.”
In February this year, JD Wetherspoon became the “first” UK pub and bar chain to detail calorie information for all drinks on its menu and website.