BETHLEHEM, Pa. — There are restaurants interested in ditching single-use plastics in favor of reusables, but they need help making the change, according to preliminary results from a citywide survey.
“We’ll be sharing the details of [the survey] sometime in the future, but in quick summary, the two biggest issues food services have in getting rid of plastic that they use is cost and straws,” city Environmental Advisory Council Member Steve Olshevski said.
“Everybody hates paper straws, and some of them have tried that and had to go back to plastic because they got such a pushback from their customers.”
“We have a lot of work to do to respond to this survey, but I’m glad we got some feedback."Bethlehem Environmental Advisory Council Member Steve Olshevski
Olshevski shared the preliminary results of the survey during the EAC’s Thursday evening meeting.
The single-use plastics survey, approved during a June EAC meeting, was emailed directly from the city’s Health Bureau to restaurants. It’s available in both English and Spanish.
Twenty-seven restaurants and eateries have so far responded since it launched three or four weeks ago, he said.
“We have a lot of work to do to respond to this survey, but I’m glad we got some feedback,” he said.
Low-cost suppliers, city help
In addition to contact and location information, survey questions include the type of restaurant and if single-use products — such as straws or stirrers, utensils, Styrofoam, plastic bags for takeout and more — are currently in use.
Other questions include the challenges restaurant owners anticipate if considering switching to more environmentally friendly alternatives, what resources would be most helpful in transitioning away from single-use plastics and how interested they would be in exploring or implementing reusable systems.
In the responses, restaurant owners asked for a list of low-cost sustainable equipment suppliers, Olshevski said.
“They want to see if there’s a possible group discount opportunity,” he said.
“So if a bunch of the restaurants go in together, can they get discounts on that stuff? And can the city provide any help with that cost, in transitioning to this?”
In a comment box included with the survey, responses were generally good, he said.
“Most of the feedback was positive — that they've already tried it, or would like to see it go this way,” he said. “So that's good news.”
EAC Chairwoman Lynn Rothman suggested going personally to restaurants to encourage owners to complete the survey.
Eco bricks
Also during the meeting, Marayna Dorsey, Lehigh University’s dining hall sustainability coordinator, gave a presentation about eco bricks, pitching a possible community project.
Eco bricks are typically plastic bottles tightly packed with plastic waste to create a reusable building material.
“My thought process with this is to make it a community engagement project, specifically with the Lehigh community,” Dorsey said.
“I was hoping to get the Office of Sustainability and the students involved and collect the bricks through them with the plastic that they use in their everyday life.
"And then figure out a way to make it into a community project. And, I was thinking maybe like an art installation or a bench to benefit the community.”
Olshevski called it a “great idea.”
“In the Waste Reduction Committee, we're trying to figure out how to get stuff out of the waste stream, and this would certainly be a way to get a lot of plastic out of that waste stream,” he said.
Lessening the use of single-use plastics has been a popular topic in the Valley. The meeting came a day after the Lehigh Valley EAC Network heard a presentation on single-use plastic reduction strategies.
Interested in becoming a member of the EAC?
City residents interested in volunteering can submit an application by emailing a letter of interest, a resume, as well as a physical address and phone number, by Nov. 15 to eacbethlehempa@gmail.com.
Applications also can be mailed to City Hall, attention City Clerk, 10 East Church Street, Bethlehem 18018.
