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Ireland is the top producer of plastic waste in the EU Shutterstock/Ink Drop via Shutterstock

Westport to become Ireland's first plastic straw-free town

Pubs are already on board the initiative which is part of their entry into the 2018 Tidy Towns competition.

WESTPORT IS AIMING to become the first town in Ireland to eradicate plastic straws.

The initiative by Westport Tidy Towns committee is part of its entry into the 2018 national competition.

The Mayo town has received a commitment from all vintners in Westport that they will only use biodegradable straws from 1 June.

Rhona Chambers, a member of Westport Tidy Towns committee, is hopeful that coffee shops, takeaways and supermarkets in the town will also be persuaded to replace plastic straws with biodegradable alternatives.

It is very likely that all the other businesses in the town will come on board. The local businesses in Westport always get behind the initiatives of the Tidy Town committee and understand its importance for the town.

”We are a coastal town and want to preserve the wildlife and nature in Westport, so getting rid of plastic straws helps us to do that,” Chambers said.

The eradication of plastic waste is more important than ever, after China decided to ban the importing of plastics from European countries.

China took 95% of Ireland’s plastic waste in 2016, but the ban which came into effect this year means that’s no longer possible.

With Ireland being the top producer of plastic waste in the EU, a number of businesses around the country have set up initiatives to reduce their plastic output.

The Westport committee is eager for other businesses in the town to join the plastic straw initiative by next month’s deadline as the busy tourist season will see an increase in plastic waste.

”Westport’s population is set to grow from 5,000 to 25,000 during the busy tourist season, the involvement of other businesses is crucial to ensure the Mayo town is free of plastic,” Chambers said.

Westport has won the Tidy Town national prize three times and works closely on other sustainability initiatives  including allowing customers to leave plastic packaging in-store after they do their shopping at Kavanagh’s SuperValu.

Westport is hopeful that this initiative will help them win for the fourth time, with the idea to get rid of plastic straws coming from the transition year students on the junior Tidy Towns committee.

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    Mute Alison Sheppard
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    May 8th 2018, 3:26 PM

    Fantastic should be country wide!

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    Mute Red Ruskie
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    May 8th 2018, 3:27 PM

    @Alison Sheppard: exactly -

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    Mute Dee O'Connoll
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    May 8th 2018, 3:46 PM

    @Alison Sheppard: it is not a very pro-choice move however.

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    Mute Larry Doyle
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    May 8th 2018, 4:03 PM

    @Dee O’Connoll: So negative.

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    Mute Diarmuid Walshe
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    May 8th 2018, 7:43 PM

    @Alison Sheppard: world wide

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    Mute Ciara Ni Mhurchu
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    May 8th 2018, 9:23 PM

    @Dee O’Connoll: Bring your own straw. No one will force you otherwise.

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    Mute Eoin O Shea
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    May 8th 2018, 3:27 PM

    This is great! Recently bought some metal straws that we can bring us to restaurants etc. My 3 yo is always looking for them! Small steps towards the right direction. Well done Westport!

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    Mute Joe Clery
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    May 8th 2018, 4:49 PM

    @Eoin O Shea: Are we sure they are safe for kids running playing and acting the maggot – How about just drinking from the glass.

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    Mute Darren Norris
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    May 8th 2018, 5:09 PM

    @Eoin O Shea: Take a big step and avoid dairy and meat.

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    Mute Eoin O Shea
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    May 8th 2018, 9:45 PM

    @Darren Norris: already there Darren, 3 years and counting

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    May 8th 2018, 10:18 PM

    @Eoin O Shea: Eh! There is a danger with plastic straws and kids cutting their mouth – this is significantly worse with metal straws – Starbucks recalled their metal straws for that reason (after some injures) and in the US ” the Consumer Products Safety Commission recommends that children neither use, nor even handle, the recalled straws.”

    I only mention this – not as a criticism but this article stuck in my mind when a 3 year old boy fell with the straw in his mouth…

    “–-horrible screaming. Ben, face-down on the living room floor. His cup lay nearby. Blood everywhere, down his chin, all over his arms and chest and stomach. I scooped him up. He was gurgling blood, that’s how much there was. He was hysterical. I gave him a wet cloth to suck on but he refused. I asked Max to get a flashlight and was able to see what I didn’t want to see–that it wasn’t just a lip cut or tongue bite. He’d fallen with his cup, and the steel straw had gone right into his palate–the roof of his mouth.”

    Source: http://www.itsnotlikeacat.com/well-that-was-stupid-straws-can-kill/

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    Mute Eoin O Shea
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    May 8th 2018, 10:20 PM

    @Niall Ó Cofaigh: to be fair, that sounds nasty. I had nit thought of the running with straws part. It does make sense.

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    May 8th 2018, 10:24 PM

    @Joe Clery: Metal straws are most certainly NOT safe for children – after a number of incidents in the US … and this is the comment from a distributor of metal straws…

    “In light of this, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warned consumers that children should not be allowed to handle or use the stainless steel straws because they pose an “injury risk”).

    For this reason, we DO NOT encourage children to handle or use our stainless steel straws, even with parental supervision. Paper straws are our recommended alternative for children.”

    source: http://www.theloststraw.com/stainless-steel-drinking-straws-safe/

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    Mute Sean Higgins
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    May 8th 2018, 5:23 PM

    I hear there is a booming trade in counterfeit straws being smuggled in from Castlebar………

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    May 8th 2018, 5:30 PM

    @Sean Higgins: Sounds like a strawman argument for arguing against this initiative. But, I’m sure there will be a sucker who falls for it…

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    Mute Irish Political GIF
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    May 8th 2018, 3:44 PM

    Bravo. I also hear they got quality cycling infrastructure

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    Mute Eidhne Conlon
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    May 8th 2018, 4:08 PM

    Fair play to Westport Tidy Towns and to the local business community for the support!

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    Mute Quentin Moriarty
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    May 8th 2018, 4:43 PM

    Great news. Hopefully they will go a step further and insist that dairies and soft drinks companies return to glass bottles
    Country is awash with recycled bottles

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    Mute Cathal Byrne
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    May 9th 2018, 11:39 AM

    @Quentin Moriarty: They have a recycling scheme in NYC. 5 cents a bottle. There are no bottles on the streets. Guys are going around bagging them and bringing them to recycling centres. I’ve even seen them sifting through the general trash bins to find them.

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    Mute Jonathan
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    May 8th 2018, 4:08 PM

    This is the last straw!!

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    Mute Eugene Walsh
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    May 8th 2018, 4:15 PM

    Well done . Only realised last wk johnson n johnson ear thingys are gone from plastic to some sort of soft cardboard. The stem part that is

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    Mute James Keogh
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    May 8th 2018, 6:30 PM

    Well done Westport, leading the West and the rest.

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    Mute Celia Murphy
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    May 8th 2018, 7:41 PM

    That’s great news…it needs to be done throughout the entire country. On holiday in Spain recently I was not given one but three plastic straws for one drink. The look on the waiters face when I returned them and explained why.

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    Mute Mark Johnson
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    May 8th 2018, 7:22 PM

    Wonder was westport chosen because it has no major fast food outlets like supermacs, mcdonalds etc?

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    Mute Swiftcub
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    May 8th 2018, 10:45 PM

    @Mark Johnson: it has a Supermacs and Blue thunder ,west Kebab ,Jade Dragon ,the two Indian places and Danollas and Antica Roma….but yeah it was probably chosen cause it has no major fast food outlets..

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    Mute Keith Synnott
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    May 8th 2018, 9:14 PM

    Bravo Westport!! However I hope it’s done correctly with compostable straws only as companies are selling degradable straws that still contain plastic and break down into micro particles. These are worse than plastic at times as it’s easier to get into the water supply and fish to eat the particles thus ending up in our food supply.
    These need to be certified to EN13432 ( European law) to ensure they can degrade( compost) with food waste. Biodegradable just means something can break down over time, sure a tyre can be classed as biodegradable as technically it will break down but probably over 70-500 years.

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    Mute Larry Doyle
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    May 8th 2018, 3:27 PM

    Well that sucks.

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    Mute David Edwards
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    May 8th 2018, 6:05 PM

    While I wish to support this worthy initiative I think this is taking the “small achievable goals” mantra too far. I can’t remember the last time I used a straw…… I had a Burger King meal mid 2017 so I used one then. Good on Kavanaghs with the unnecessary packaging hopefully we can be rid of a lot of that stuff

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    Mute pearse
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    May 8th 2018, 8:07 PM

    Another great achievement. It’s a wonder the government haven’t got a tax on straws like everything else

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    Mute Trevor Hayden
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    May 8th 2018, 4:44 PM

    That makes perfect sense, sure wasn’t our last leader a plastic Taoiseach, fake, rubbish and at one time thought of himself as indisposable.
    Hopefully that b won’t take as long to decompose.

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    Mute Roy
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    May 8th 2018, 10:02 PM

    All those hen parties without their p€nis straws will be distrawt!

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    Mute Kerrie Roche
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    May 9th 2018, 2:16 AM

    How are we the top producer of plastic in Europe

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    May 8th 2018, 10:02 PM

    They had a straw poll and Westport drew the short straw…

    101 questions…. we;; a few…. what about the drinks cartons that comes with straws? what about the elderly and those in nursing homes etc,? and those ill and unable to drink normally…? hopefully those that need straws can find a suitable alternative without too much extra cost.

    That said, we do need to tackle plastic waste, but we also need to look at the pathetic recycling that seems to be available here….

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    Mute FartyTowels
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    May 8th 2018, 11:27 PM

    Damn those pesky straws

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