Restaurants & Bars

Danny Meyer Restaurants To Ditch Plastic Straws

All restaurants in the Union Square Hospitality Group will phase out the use of plastic straws.

GRAMERCY, NY — All restaurants in Danny Meyer's restaurant group will phase out plastic straws, the prolific restaurateur announced on Thursday.

The Union Square Hospitality Group plans to transition to biodegradable straws at all of its businesses in "the very near future," a spokeswoman for the restaurant group confirmed.

The restaurant group has grown to include 18 bars and restaurants after starting with the Union Square Cafe, today located at 101 E. 19th St. The company's original restaurant tweeted on Thursday that it would phase out plastic straw use "after learning that 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year."

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Advocates estimates that the U.S. disposes of 500 million plastic straws every day. Plastic straw trash load is particularly burdensome on the planet because plastic straws don't biodegrade, and often end up in the ocean.

Other restaurants in the company include Martina, Daily Provisions and Gramercy Tavern.

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Image credit: Ciara McCarthy / Patch

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