Chartwells dining services has joined the ranks of several other Cape Girardeau businesses in attempting to reduce the impact of plastic on the environment by replacing straws with an alternative solution.

Chartwells made the announcement Oct. 12 it no longer would be supplying plastic straws and would instead give out paper straws upon request at checkout.

In their post announcing the switch, the company stated a straw has “a lifespan of about 20 minutes before it is thrown away, typically ending up in a landfill or polluting our oceans.”

Instructor and director of Health Communication Brooke Hildebrand Clubbs said she was contacted to meet with director of Marketing and Student Engagement for Chartwells Alicia Ticer regarding her concerns about the problems the lack of straws would create for those with disabilities.

“I really had not thought about the plastic straw issue from the perspective of people with disabilities until my sister, who is a speech language pathologist and has worked with lots of individuals who have cerebral palsy, spoke up,” Clubbs said.

She said individuals with the condition would not be able to switch to a paper, metal or silicone straw, and they would not be able to drink unless they brought their own straws.

“To reiterate, I am all for reducing plastic consumption, and I think those who can should go without a plastic straw,” she said.

Student Government Association vice president Eli Bonhert said he thinks getting rid of plastic straws is a great idea and is a major issue SGA is addressing this semester.

Chartwells’ discontinuation of the plastic straws, he said, is “a great way for the university to keep up with evolving environmental standards.”

Justin Jacobs is the chair of the SGA’s Special Projects Committee, a committee which is addressing sustainability.

Burrito-Ville went to biodegradable straws in June, avoiding the use of 84,000 plastic straws per year.

Nationally, Starbucks announced in July it wants to get rid of all straws by 2020.

The National Park Service reports 500 million straws are used daily in America: an amount that could fill 125 school buses.

The switch to only using paper straws available upon request started the week of Oct. 15.