Tampa Bay Times
Business owners and elected officials on Tuesday unveiled a new campaign attacking an environmental scourge:
The plastic straw.
The “No Straws St. Pete” campaign hopes to convince businesses and residents to curb their usage of straws. It is led by City Council member Gina Driscoll, the website ilovetheburg.com, Bank of the Ozarks and several environmental groups.
WTSP 10
The city of St. Petersburg revealed a citywide campaign Tuesday to reduce and eventually eliminate plastic straw usage.
City officials hope the “No Straw St. Pete” campaign encourages greater discussion about single-use plastics, like utensils and cup lids.
“I think {limiting} all single-use plastics should be looked at and considered,” said District Six city council member Gina Driscoll on Tuesday.
Fox 13
St. Petersburg is once again continuing its efforts to be an eco-friendly city, this time by trying to get rid of plastic straws.
Tuesday morning the city kicked off its campaign to curb the use of plastic straws. St. Pete says an average person will use about 35,000 straws in their life, and it estimated a third of them end up in waterways.
“St. Pete is a coastal city we are surrounded by water,” Councilwoman Darden Rice said. “The straws are harmful to marine wildlife.”
WMNF
This Thursday, the St. Petersburg City Council will begin to discuss how to reduce the amount of single-use plastics in the city; and Tuesday morning a coalition of restaurant owners and civic groups unveiled a new campaign for businesses to voluntarily reduce the use of plastic straws. But for some environmentalists, that doesn’t go far enough – they’re hoping the city passes an all-out ban on single-use plastics like straws and bags.
WFLA
Leaders are pushing to get rid of plastic straws at bars across Pinellas County.
St. Petersburg restaurateur Robin King, of Three Birds Tavern, is hoping her efforts to stop using plastic straws will help the environment.
“I think when they get their glass for the first time with no straw, they’re taken back a little bit. But I think when they truly understand, then they’re more apt to go along with it rather than be dissatisfied,” she said.
She’s one of the dozens of business owners in St. Petersburg taking part in the “No Straw” campaign. St. Pete city leaders kicked off the initiative Tuesday morning.
New Haven Register
St. Petersburg is once again continuing its efforts to be an eco-friendly city, this time by trying to get rid of plastic straws.
Florida Trend
St. Petersburg business owners and elected officials on Tuesday unveiled a new campaign attacking an environmental scourge:
The plastic straw.
The “No Straws St. Pete” campaign hopes to convince businesses and residents to curb their usage of straws.
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
On Tuesday, April 10, St. Petersburg City Councilwoman Gina Driscoll joined a group of local businesses at City Hall to formally launch #nostrawsstpete, an organized effort at reducing the use of plastic drinking straws, which can’t be recycled and have proven not just an eyesore on our beaches but a danger to the coastal environment and its wildlife. A double-edged, voluntary initiative, #nostrawsstpete asks local bars and restaurants to only provide plastic straws upon request, while encouraging patrons to order their drinks with “no straw.”
As Earth Day 2018 approaches, CL caught up with Driscoll, who has represented St. Pete’s District 6 since her election last November, to find out how the initiative is going, and where it might lead.