A handful of pubs and restaurants in Reno are nixing plastic straws. Our contributor Kaleb Roedel of the Northern Nevada Business Weekly has the details.

Since March, the Brewer's Cabinet, Sierra Tap House and Ole Bridge Pub have not used plastic straws in their establishments. All three are managed by the same group of co-owners.

Joining a growing national trend, the pubs' well-publicized "no straw" campaign is an effort to help the environment by limiting plastic pollution.

Every day, Americans use more than 500 million plastic straws. That's according to the organization Get Green Now. Moreover, it takes up to 200 years for plastic straws, which are not biodegradable, to decompose.

Great Basin Brewing Company, in Reno and Sparks, is also planning to stop using plastic straws. The owners tried doing away with them about five years ago but received negative reactions from customers at the time.

As a note of disclosure, we should mention that Great Basin Brewing Company is a financial sponsor for this station.

For more information, head over to Northern Nevada Business Weekly.