by Scott Laird
Last updated: 9:00 PM ET, Wed February 21, 2018
Hawai'i is one of the country's most eco-conscious states. Surrounded by natural beauty and a lack of available landfill space, it's easy to understand why disposal of waste, while not particularly glamorous, is a hot topic in the Aloha State. Of particular interest as of late are disposable plastic beverage straws, which have begun to disappear from the state's hotels as they look for better ways to maintain environmental stewardship.
The effort launched by Sheraton Maui, which ended the automatic distribution of plastic straws in all beverages in favor of paper straws upon request last fall, has been replicated on the island of O'ahu at The Modern Honolulu.
The hotel realized that their food and beverage outlets gave out 612,000 plastic straws with beverages in 2017, and eliminating those items from their service could eliminate the amount of waste produced by the hotel without meaningfully impacting the guest experience.
While paper straws are available upon request, advocacy group Lonely Whale, the organization behind the Strawless Ocean Initiative would like to see consumers question their use of straws in general and the impact it has upon the planet's oceans, where plastic trash has proven challenging to conservation efforts focused on seabirds and marine mammals.
"With making a small change in removing plastic straws on the property, The Modern Honolulu hopes to inspire guests and businesses on the island and around the world to act responsibly while they stay with use and after they leave our shores. We hope our guests will appreciate our forward-thinking and will join us in this and other initiatives to keep Honolulu beautiful for generations to come," Douglas Rucker, Managing Director of The Modern Honolulu told TravelPulse.
Following an initial test period, the hotel has completed its transition and has been strawless for just over three months.
The Modern Honolulu is an independently branded boutique hotel in Waikiki which offers an intimate guest experience compared with some of the area's larger resorts. Guests have two pools to choose from: one adults-only pool with a sandy shore, another for all ages and plenty of sun. Guest rooms are done in luxurious woods and fabrics in shades of white with splashes of color. Rather extraordinary for Waikiki, where resort fees have become almost standard, the hotel does not charge an additional supplement for its guest room and resort amenities.
A bill currently sits before the Hawai'i Senate that would ban the use of plastic straws, although some industry organizations do not support a ban, arguing instead that business need to do more to secure disposed waste. Similar legislation has been proposed in California.
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