TOLEDO (WTOL) - The bars and restaurants at Put-In-Bay this past summer pitched in to keep Lake Erie clean.
It’s all part of a nationwide project called ‘Skip the Straw.’
It started at the Roundhouse Bar and spread to other businesses.
You may have done your part when ordering a drink.
Here’s what changed.
Roundhouse patrons were given the option of no straw or a bio-degradable one.
That resulted in fewer straws being put in rubbish cans and possibly ending up in the lake, crucial to the area’s billion dollar tourism industry.
It was a cost savings to the bar too and other island businesses jumped on the bandwagon when they found out.
“So we’re saving Lake Erie and the pollution and plastic from going into the lake and affecting the fish,” said Paula Garsteck of the Roundhouse Bar.
Liquor distributors are also involved in helping to prevent potential plastic pollution.
On Sunday, one donated $5,000 to the Lake Erie Foundation which promotes the sustainability of the lake’s water.
“So not only are we doing this here but the market back in the Cleveland area. We’re very influential with the downtown Cleveland market as well,” said Steve Tedescha of distributor Pernod-Ricard.
The island’s summer season officially ended on Sunday.
The Roundhouse went through seven cases of straws during that time compared to forty in 2017.
‘Skipping the Straw’ was a big success.
