Why Reusable Straws?

As you may have noticed while browsing Niue’s largest travel guide, NiuePocketGuide.com takes a sustainable approach to visiting the island. Not only do we recommend slapping on the reef-safe sunscreen, suggest alternatives for using a car for your entire getaway, and provide gentle reminders about avoiding stepping on coral and more, but we are now donating reusable straws to all of the places in Niue that will use them!

Keeping the oceans and landfills free from harmful single-use plastic just got a little easier in Niue.

What’s Wrong with Plastic Straws?

Plastic straws are just one example of the world’s unnecessary reliance on single-use plastic – plastic that stays on this planet long after the person who used the plastic has gone. The type of plastic used for straws never fully degrades, only degrading into smaller pieces called “microplastics”.

Microplastics are particularly harmful to marine wildlife, which is found in so much abundance in the world’s oceans that small fish and krill can’t help but eat them, which are in turn, are consumed by wildlife higher in the food chain, such as whales and dolphins – species that are found in Niue’s beautiful waters. Microplastics have a poisoning effect on these marine species.

Even before a plastic straw becomes a microplastic, it can be devastating for seabirds who can easily pick up plastic and swallow it. Needless to say, plastic cannot be digested, so it remains in the bird’s stomach preventing it from eating the quantity of food it needs. Eventually, the bird will die of starvation. More than one million seabirds die each year from ingesting plastic.

Plastic straws are made from type 5 plastic, which is not a commonly accepted type of plastic for recycling. Most plastic straws head for the landfills, which can escape into the environment during transportation, while some plastic straws are simply littered and eventually wash into the oceans. Plastic straws are the 11th most-found ocean trash.

Why Use Reusable Straws?

If you care about the wildlife you share the world with, then the devastating environmental impact of plastic straws should be enough to convince you to avoid these single-use plastic items altogether. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to live without sipping! There are more and more options for travel-friendly reusable straws on the market that you can carry with you while visiting the South Pacific Islands, as we mention in 18 Must-Have Travel Gadgets for Niue. And thanks to NiuePocketGuide.com, metal straws have become part of restaurant cutlery you’ll make use of when dining and drinking in Niue.

By using the reusable straws provided in Niue (or using your own when they’re not available), you’ll help eliminate the average 50,000 plastic straws per year from entering Niue’s landfill and, in turn, the ocean.

Where Will You Find NiuePocketGuide.com’s Reusable Straws?

So where can you try out NiuePocketGuide.com’s flashy stainless steel reusable straws? The below restaurants, cafes and bars have had reusable straws donated to them, so hopefully, they are making use of the donation. (Of course, we can’t make businesses do something they don’t want to do…)

Crazy Uga Cafe & Bar

Washaway Cafe & Bar

Gill’s Restaurant & Takeaway

Jenna’s Restaurant

Scenic Matavai Resort

Tavana’s Cafe

Kaiika Restaurant

Vaiolama Cafe & Minigolf

Inukaitala Cafe

Hio Cafe & Bar

Clayton’s Bar

Matapa Bar

Niue Golf & Sports Club

Pacific Way Bar

Alofi Rugby Club

Wok on the Rock

All Relativf

Learn more about these restaurants in our Food & Drink category.

Are the Reusable Straws for Sale?

No, the reusable straws donated to Niue’s restaurants are not for sale and not for customers to keep. They are just like receiving any other piece of cutlery at a restaurant, such as a knife and fork – you use them, then leave them on the table when you’re done. Simple!

Think the reusable straws are pretty neat? There are a ton of options to buy your own set of reusable straws, which are small and easy to carry around with you. That way, when you are visiting a place that isn’t as forward-thinking and sustainable as Niue, you’ll have your own sustainable solution.

Check out Scurry Reusable Metal Straw or the Dinostraw Silicone Travel Straw.