Charleston entrepreneur Tom Crowley is on a mission to end single-use plastic pollution by convincing businesses to switch to straws that break down organically in just two months.
“The goal is to increase awareness about high quality compostable materials as a healthier alternative to single-use plastics that can be sourced here in the USA, right in our own backyard.”
Crowley’s business, named The Last Straw, has been open for one year and has already grown to serve about 50 Charleston-area businesses, most of which are restaurants and bars.
It offers straws made from a plant-based material called PHA that is federally approved for food contact. The straws decompose within two months of being thrown away. In use, they maintain the feel of regular plastic straws that customers are used to. But unlike paper straws, they don’t get soggy or fall apart.
“Plastics in the marine environment are especially bad,” said Charleston Waterkeeper Andrew Wunderley. “There’s a lot of locally done research that shows in four to six weeks, regular plastic in the waste stream starts to degrade into microplastics.
“Once they’re microplastics, they’re impossible to remove, and they’re also taken up into the food web. Small organisms will eat them, and so on until they end up in the seafood we eat.”
Looking for alternatives
Will Stone, manager of Heavy’s on Morrison Drive, said other sustainable straws – flimsy paper straws – didn’t work well at his business. But those from The Last Straw are performing the job.
“Our customers were using two or three straws while they were here,” he said. “We realized what was going on—the paper straws would fall apart on them. We want to be sustainable, but the other straw options weren’t cutting it.”
While Crowley said he supports reducing plastic waste, he recognizes that eliminating straws entirely isn’t realistic.
“It would be great if people didn’t use straws altogether. I’m for whatever helps the environment,” he said. “I don’t think that is going to happen, so I want to provide a good alternative that people want to use and that businesses will be willing to switch to.”
To make the switch easier for businesses, Crowley offers price-beat guarantees and free shipping.
Even in production, sustainability remains the priority. The company’s manufacturing machines run on electricity, and while deliveries currently rely on gasoline, he hopes to switch to an electric vehicle in the future.
Crowley said he has already started expanding beyond Charleston and wants to grow as much as possible. He’s committed to staying at the forefront of sustainable technology and recently introduced a new cellulose acetate straw made from wood pulp that is backyard compostable and USA-sourced.
Enforcing the ban
While the city of Charleston has a single-use plastic ban, Crowley and Wunderley said they worried about enforcement.
“Every community around Charleston, except for North Charleston, has a single-use plastic ban,” Wunderley said. “Compliance with an ordinance like this is always an issue, and I think it’s up to the public and local governments to make sure those ordinances are being enforced and that they’re doing the appropriate education and outreach to businesses that are using that material.”
He added Charleston and Mount Pleasant have been active with education and outreach for businesses and have also been good about enforcing ordinances. But he encouraged more outreach.
Crowley said he supports the single-use plastics ban – but not to just advance his business.
“It would be great to have it more strictly enforced, but it’s not my responsibility. I’m not here to be a watchdog. I’m not going to report anyone not following the mandate.
“The businesses want to become more sustainable—I’m just here to make it as easy as possible for them.”
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