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Suffolk restaurants ditching plastic straws for Earth Day

The Brighter Day Cafe in Suffolk is joining a discussion that's raised a lot of awareness for the environment.

SUFFOLK, Va. — The Brighter Day Cafe in Suffolk is joining a discussion that's raised a lot of awareness for the environment.

"The paper straws are obviously less harmful to the animals, to the water, to the ecosystem and every little bit helps," said owner Garret Watters.

His cafe joins eight other Suffolk restaurants this weekend that are either going strawless or switching to paper straws to bring awareness to the risks plastic straws pose.

Katie Cullipher, 'askHRgreen' team leader, is one of the leaders behind the initiative.

"We hope it's an initiative that will be an everyday thing and not just be an earth day thing," she said.

She said plastic straws are one of the most littered items, so being able to get restaurants to help push this message is a big help.

"We all go out to eat regularly so to see a sign at your favorite restaurant supporting this initiative encourages people to think about it because I think using a straw has become a no brainer," said Cullipher.

"It's good that folks are aware of the environment and they're willing to make a change, and if it starts with a straw, it starts with a straw. It's gotta start somewhere," Watters said.

He said they haven't made a full switch away from plastics but given the risks, he thinks it may not be a bad idea to start.

"We should probably get away from the harmful stuff and try to do a little better," said Watters.

Click here to learn more about the initiative.

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