The last straw? Borgata joins Starbucks in ditching plastic straws

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Tuesday, July 10, 2018
More companies eliminating plastic straws
More companies eliminating plastic straws. Tamala Edwards reports during Action News Mornings on July 10, 2018.

It seems finding a straw will be harder at several businesses.

The Borgata in Atlantic City is going straw-less.

Its parent company, MGM Resorts International, will not automatically offer straws and stirrers at all properties.

However, customers who want a straw can still request one.

MGM says this initiative aims to eventually remove more than 250,000 straws a day from landfills and waterways.

Starbucks announced Monday it is also doing away with all plastic straws by 2020.

The coffee giant will replace the straws with new lids that have a raised lip for sipping.

But if you really got to have a straw, Starbucks will also have eco-friendly straws made from paper or compostable plastic, if you ask.

Plastic drinking straws make up only about 4 percent of plastic trash by number of pieces, and far less by weight. Straws add up to about 2,000 tons of the nearly 9 million tons of plastic waste that ends up in waters around the globe each year.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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