Plastic pollution the final straw for SA hotel chain

A South African hotel chain has banned plastic straws at all its establishments‚ as pressure mounts on the hospitality industry to cut back on a product that is harmful to the environment.

Tsogo Sun‚ which runs more than 100 hotels and 13 casino and entertainment establishments‚ announced on Tuesday that it was adding its voice to the global #nostraw campaign.

“Tsogo Sun will no longer be serving straws‚” said Ravi Nadasen‚ Tsogo Sun Hotels’ chief operating officer.

Plastic straws‚ which are not biodegradable and are generally used for less than 20 minutes‚ are one of the many single-use plastic items that end up in the world’s oceans‚ polluting the water and harming marine life.

According to Greenpeace Africa‚ up to 12-million metric tonnes of plastic enter the ocean worldwide every year.

“When you consider that one plastic straw takes 500 years to decompose‚ if we continue to use straws as we do‚ by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish‚” said Nadasen.

“Straws are an item of convenience for most of us. We hope that by not providing straws with drinks in our hotels‚ restaurants‚ casinos and entertainment destinations‚ our guests will be inspired to stop using straws altogether.”

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