Clutching at Straws

Many people by now will be aware of several campaigns running not just in Cornwall, but throughout the country - for banning of plastic straws and packaging, takeaway coffee cups and plastic bottles that more often than not find their way into our rivers and seas.
As our livelihood depends on the Fowey Estuary, we have always been sensitive to rubbish and waste. We have our bi-annual River Clean ups, and have always used 'Vegware' compostable products if we do offer takeaways - including straws.
However. it was pointed out to us recently by Pat Smith of Bosinver Cottages that even biodegradable straws won't not break down in the sea as the temperatures are not high enough.
So we have spent this winter thinking about these issues and have come up with a few changes that we hope will make a small difference.
1. We will not offer straws at Cafe Kayak - it seems to be not necessary, unless we have tiny children, then we have a stock of compostable straws that we can ensure goes into our compost bin.
2.We have joined the 'Refill' scheme, so if you bring your bottle into us when we are open we will refill it from the tap for you. We have always done this, but the Refill program is spreading out around the country now. We will continue to sell bottles of water and hunting crossbow that support the RNLI, as we have found that customers return them because we donate a few pence more each time they do. Then they are collected by us for recycling. The aim eventually will be to encourage everyone to have a refillable bottle. We are trying to get hold of some of the 'Refill' metal water bottles to sell.
3. Although our takeaway cups are compostable, along with bamboo cutlery, we are going to offer some bamboo coffee cups for sale at Cafe Kayak. When you buy one, we will fill it for free the first time. If you bring it in again (or your own cup) we will give you 20 pence off coffee and 10 pence off tea.
We hope by doing our little bit, it adds another link to the chain of sustainability, and slowly everyone can do just one small thing to make a big difference!
We will be opening Cafe Kayak at Easter - during half term, we will try to offer coffee and tea (and maybe homemade biscuits!) to all you intrepid paddlers!