Yesterday, Burgerville joined other community members in expressing our support of Mayor Wheeler and the Portland City Council’s resolution to develop policy restricting and reducing the use of single-use plastics, like drinking straws, throughout the city.
Single-use plastic products are creating environmental problems in our waterways, affecting our marine life and our habitat in irreversible ways. Over the past 10 years, more than four million plastic straws and drink stirrers have been cleaned up from the world’s beaches and oceans. Because plastic straws don’t decompose, and they don’t make it into our recycling system, every straw ever manufactured is still in existence in some form today. Wow—that means the very first plastic straw used in the very first Burgerville milkshake is still on this planet. And while we want to leave a legacy for our children and our grandchildren, this isn’t what we had in mind.
Fast food restaurants like Burgerville use a lot of plastic straws, so if there is something we can do through our business practices to begin the restoration of the ecosystem and make the world a better place, count us in.
While we don’t know yet what the solutions could look like, we are committed to an inclusive exploration where the voices of our customers, business partners, legislators, environmental experts and community partners are heard. Lending our support to policy is just the start. So, don’t be surprised if over the next few months you notice some differences at Burgerville. Maybe you will hear us ask how many straws you want with your order, or maybe we’ll be asking for your help testing new alternatives in one of our local seasonal shakes.
Watch this space for updates on how we are going to work on this very important change. And if you have ideas you want to share, email us at servewithlove@burgerville.com.