by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:29 AM ET, Thu July 26, 2018
Joining a recent wave in the travel industry, the Walt Disney Company announced it would be eliminating single-use plastic straws and stirrers at all properties by mid-2019, sans Disney Tokyo.
According to ABCNews.com, Disney claims the decision will eliminate more than 175 million straws and 13 million stirrers annually at its properties.
Disney is also transitioning to refillable in-room amenities at hotels and on cruise ships, as well as reducing the number of single-use plastic shopping bags. The moves are expected to reduce plastic usage by 80 percent.
"Eliminating plastic straws and other plastic items are meaningful steps in our long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship," Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products chairman Bob Chapek told ABC. "These new global efforts help reduce our environmental footprint and advance our long-term sustainability goals."
Disney joins a long line of other companies in the travel industry who have vowed to ban single-use plastic straws. Some of the other brands making the move include American Airlines, Hyatt Hotels, Marriott International, Royal Caribbean Cruises and many more.
Fellow theme park operator SeaWorld Entertainment announced in June that all 12 of its facilities have removed all single-use plastic drinking straws and plastic shopping bags.
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