It’s hard to believe that it was two years ago when we initiated off our “Kick the Plastic Habit” campaign and booted plastic bags out of the Market.
Since then we’ve urged customers to bring their own re-usable shopping bags, asked vendors not to put out single-use plastic bags, and encouraged food vendors to switch to all recyclable or compostable containers and drinkware.
Starting this week, Natural Born Juicers makes the change to paper straws. Did you know 500 Million plastic straws are used every day in the United States? Those plastic straws are one of the top contributors to our landfills and to polluting our waterways worldwide.
By switching to paper straws, NBJ is not only helping to clean up our environment, they are also supporting Aardvark Straws, the only manufacturer of paper straws in the country, located in Fort Wayne, IN. That helps our state economy too.
Aardvark’s straws use only FDA-compliant and food-grade materials and are marine degradable and compostable. A subsidiary of Indianapolis-based Precision Products Group Inc., the company unearthed an old 1888 patent for the first paper straw and reworked it with modern technology.
Global demand for the product has skyrocketed as plastic straws have become the new focus of groups targeting single-use plastics for their harmful effects on the environment. See more about Aardvark Straws on their website here and at USA Today here.
The BRFM is pleased to be part of the movement to reduce plastic pollution and proud of our vendors who have embraced the “Kick the Plastic Habit” campaign. We hope you’ll let them know that you appreciate their efforts too.
