For the sports bar inside Le Club Dome in Kirkland, straws have always been a necessity.
“A box of straws has about 500 straws in it and we were going through a box or two — like on a busy weekend on a Friday night — we’re going through an entire box,” said Chris Domsodi, the Dome’s sales and marketing representative.
“It’s just astronomical.”
When they realized just how many they were using and the effects plastic straws have on the environment, they knew they had to make a change.
So on July 1, the dome became straw-free.
“We wanted to say maybe we start this movement and slowly the other West Island bars and restaurants can slowly adopt this and then soon enough, it will be a Montreal-wide thing,” said Domsodi.
READ MORE: City of Vancouver votes to ban single-use plastic straws and styrofoam cups
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The Kirkland establishment has joined the growing movement to eliminate the use of plastic drinking straws.
Last week, the St-Hubert restaurant chain announced they would be ditching straws. Starbucks also said this week it will eliminate straws by 2020.
Cities like Vancouver and Seattle have recently adopted city-wide bans.
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READ MORE: Starbucks to ditch plastic straws globally by 2020
“I think it’s a great initiative because it can have a snowball effect and maybe it can help government to act in this way, banning non-recyclable plastic,” said environmentalist Karel Ménard.
The move also comes as city officials have taken steps to cut back on waste in Montreal, including banning single-use plastic bags.
In May, city council passed a motion prohibiting water bottles from municipal buildings.
READ MORE: City councillor wants to see Montreal ban single-use plastic water bottles in city buildings
Now, some want the city go even further — a petition is circulating urging officials to ban plastic straws.
“In the United States, we use about 50 million straws a day — it’s enormous,” said Ménard. “In Canada, it’s about 30 million straws a day as well.”
WATCH: Starbucks promises to eliminate plastic straws from more than 28,000 locations worldwide
A city spokesperson says their goal as an administration is to reduce plastic consumption — and that includes plastic straws — but as of right now, there is no specific plan or timeline to ban them city wide.
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