At some restaurants around North Texas, don’t be surprised if you’re not offered a straw. Dallas based Snappy Salads says it’s experienced a shortage with manufacturer Aardvark who makes the eco-friendly paper straws it’s used since 2014.
Founder Chris Dahlander first made the decision to move from plastic to paper after watching a video of a sea turtle found with a plastic straw embedded in its nose.
"We're just killing our oceans. And if we kill our oceans, we're going to kill us,” said Dahlander.
But while Dahlander believes he was among the first to make the switch in DFW, he’s no longer alone. Aardvark tells him it’s high demand that’s slowed delivery times.
And when Dahlander’s delivery didn’t arrive in March, he considered returning to plastic for just a moment.
“As I think about our mission, it just did not align with our mission,” said Dahlander.
So instead, Snappy Salads told customers there wouldn’t be straws available unless they brought their own. And though they received push back when they initially made the switch in 2014, this time all they got was support.
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“So the straw to me is that symbol. It’s a symbol of a change. It’s a symbol of making a difference in our own personal behaviors on a day to day basis. If we all do it, it will make a huge difference in the world,” said Dahlander.
This week, the shipment finally arrived. Still, Dahlander would gladly go without again if it meant more companies like his were making a switch to better the planet.
“It’s a great problem to have that we are now as a country and, really world-wide looking at this thing that’s been polluting our oceans for so long,” said Dahlander.
Bon Appetit Management, who owns Fort Worth’s Café Modern, recently announced its restaurants would also do away with plastic straws.
Some environmental groups estimate that by the year 2050, there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish.
