Popular student nightclub, ATIK, is banning plastic drinking straws in a move to become more environmentally friendly.
Located in West Tollcross, the nightclub will offer biodegradable alternatives to plastic drinking straws for customers buying mixers, cocktails and soft drinks from Monday the 19th of February.
General manager, Mark Cameron, said in a press release: “We’re all about serving up a great night out but from 19 February the only straws we’ll offer to customers will be made from renewable plant sources. They’ll biodegrade in six months rather than hundreds of years so they won’t add to the planet’s pollution problems.
“Our customers and colleagues are more environmentally aware so I’m sure they’ll welcome the change and agree that plastic sucks!”
Speaking to The Student on behalf of the nightclub, Jo Mathers, managing director for LimeGreen, communications said “ATIK Edinburgh currently use approximately 15,000+ straws each week, and they are the first club in the city to stop serving plastic straws.”
The ban on plastic means that straws will no longer be supplied with a drink, but that biodegradable alternatives will be made available at the customer’s request.
“The straws are made of PLA (polylatic acid)- a compostable plant based material”, Mathers told The Student. PLA is a biodegradable material derived from renewable resources such as cornstarch or sugarcane.
ATIK is part of The Deltic Group, which is bringing in the ban as part of their commitment to become a more environmentally conscious and sustainable in their operations. They support the hospitality industry’s concerns about pollution caused by plastic straws ending up in the sea and landfill sites.
The Deltic Group is the UK’s largest operator of bars, clubs and other late night entertainment venues. They operate 57 establishments in total and employ three thousand people. Created in 2011 and led by chief executive, Peter Marks, the company has won a variety of awards at The 2016 Publican Awards: Best Late Night Operator, Best Pub Operations Team and Responsible Retailer of the Year.
A number of other establishments within the UK are also looking at taking steps to reduce and ultimately ban the supply of plastic drinking straws with a drink. This includes Pizza Express – who aim to offer a biodegradable alternative by this summer – and JD Wetherspoon who will only supply paper drinking straws from January.
The Scottish Parliament has also banned plastic drinking straws and from now on will only supply paper alternatives in their public cafe.
Image: wiley photo via Flickr