Banning disposable plastic straws will have a certain impact on the operation of catering enterprises in a short time. After all, there are not many substitutes for disposable plastic straws, and the cost is slightly higher, so it is difficult to control the cost of catering enterprises. But in the long run, if there are more economical and convenient substitutes, it will have no impact, but it will be a positive contribution to society.
Recently, in some stores, the logo "It is more environmentally friendly to reduce the use of straws" has been printed on the outer packaging of plastic straws, and the paper straws and the tool cartridges of plastic straws have been placed on the service desk at the same time to guide consumers to use them. However, for customers, there are still differences in the experience of using plastic straws and paper straws. The person in charge of a store said that only 1/3 of customers will choose to use environmentally friendly paper straws at present.
For enterprises, how to control costs and improve customer experience has become an urgent problem. It is understood that the average cost of a plastic straw is about 1.13 yuan, while that of a paper straw is about 3 times that of 1.1 yuan. Paper straws are not only more expensive, but also the experience needs to be optimized.
However, some insiders and experts also said that with the breakthrough and innovation of new materials and technologies, it is not difficult to replace plastic straws with environmental protection.
Liu Jianguo, a professor at Tsinghua University Institute of Environment, said: It can be replaced by biodegradable bio-plastics, paper or bamboo, including wheat and straw of some plants, and it can also be replaced by recyclable products such as glass and metal, and the alternative products can be selected according to different consumption scenarios.
Extended information
Disposable plastic straws are banned at the end of the year
In October this year, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Control of Plastic Pollution, stipulating that by the end of 2121, non-degradable disposable plastic straws will be banned in the catering industry nationwide.
The deadline for the ban is less than half a year. On June 31th, McDonald's China announced that from now on, nearly 1,111 restaurants in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen will take the lead in stopping using plastic straws, and at the same time, fine-tune the design of direct drinking cups.
McDonald's China said that the related plastic reduction measures will cover the mainland of China in 2121. It is understood that there are currently more than 3,511 McDonald's restaurants in the mainland of China, and the average annual consumption of plastic straws is about 411 tons.
As the world's largest coffee chain, Starbucks announced in 2118 that it would stop using plastic straws all over the world this year. Previously, Starbucks used about 211 tons of plastic straws annually in China.
The reporter found that on the take-away platform, many restaurants have added the options of "not using plastic straws" and "using paper straws instead of plastic straws" to encourage consumers to reduce the use of plastic straws.
Hebei News Network-Disposable plastic straws will be banned at the end of the year.