GRAN KAZ SUPPORTS BAN ON PLASTIC STRAWS

Following Cabinet’s approval last June to ban the importation of one use plastic straws into the country - in an effort to reduce plastic waste, and boost environmentally sustainable practises - Gran Kaz has jumped on the bandwagon and completely phased out our use of plastic straws.

We believe this is a great initiative. The use of plastic which takes hundreds of years to decompose, has long been a concern for environmentalists worldwide, who understand the dangers to our fragile earth ecosystems of the ever increasing tons of plastic waste being dumped in landfills around the globe.

Every day on social media you see devastating videos of plastic waste from the landfills - making its way to the oceans - suffocating marine life, and washing up in huge quantities on the shores. For such a small island state, whose pristine environment and natural beauty are its main selling points, the thought of this kind of scene making its way to our beaches is simply scary.

Its, therefore, wonderful to see policy makers backing environmentalists in their efforts to preserve our islands. At the same time, its important to understand that it is not just the responsibility of certain groups or sectors to protect the natural environment of our beautiful islands, but the responsibility of everyone - individuals and companies alike – to adopt and promote sustainable practises.

Which is why we are happy to do our part to support this movement. We have completely stopped using plastic straws, replacing them instead with compostable straws, which are now also available on the market. We have also decided to start a policy of “doesn’t ask, don’t give” whereby if a customer doesn’t specifically request a straw we aren’t going to give them one. You’ll notice, that in many places be it a restaurant or bar,  straws are given with every soft drink or cocktail, yet half the time, people don’t even use them – all that happens is that these straws are added to the heaps of plastic waste already engulfing the planet. So this new internal policy, alongside our use of compostable straws, we hope will help push back some of the damage already done, and head us in a more eco-friendly direction.