As you well know, I have been on a bit of a campaign recently to get people to ditch their plastic straws. When, as human beings we are equipped with perfectly good mouths to facilitate drinking, it boggles my mind why we require the assistance of a bit of plastic to help us drink without spilling it down ourselves. That said, I love drinking cocktails through a straw, and many people prefer to drink sugary drinks with one to avoid damaging their teeth.
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Anyway, through a friend of mine, I acquired some metal straws complete with cleaners that look like little mascara brushes. From the first moment I tried it, I was sold completely and am now proudly getting out my snazzy metal straw at every opportunity. I then ordered another 60 and have been giving them out to anyone that I come into contact with.
I also sprung them upon the proprietor of my favoured coffee/wine drinking, and eating establishment, The Rooms Bar and Bistro on Rruga Sami Frasheri. When I first handed Auron a metal straw with its little cleaning brush, I must admit he looked a bit confused. Then, as the penny dropped, a smile appeared upon his face and he declared his adoration for the little, metal, bendy, tubes.
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So, I am pleased to announce that in two weeks’ time, The Rooms Bar and Bistro will become the FIRST establishment in Albania to go completely plastic straw free. You will be able to enjoy a metal straw with your drink, or even purchase one yourself for future use from the bistro itself.
In case you didn’t know, we humans go through around 2 billion plastic straws every single day. The majority of these end up in the world’s oceans and cause injury and death to sea life that either ingest it whole, or ingest toxic microplastics. Cutting out straws and replacing them with reusable or biodegradable alternatives is a small little change that we can all make that will help to have a big impact on the world around us.
I am super happy that The Rooms have made this decision and it shows that they have a very proactive approach to ethical business, reducing waste, and operating without causing unnecessary harm to the world around them. This dedication to remove plastic straws from the premises is a great step forward and I hope that this will signal a change in the mentality of big and small business owners, not just in Tirana, but across Albania.
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Well done to Auron and his team and stay tuned for more information regarding implementation and when you can experience the metal straw revolution for yourself.
Check out The Rooms Bar and Bistro Facebook, Website, and Instagram here.
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