Recipe Unlimited to phase out plastic straws at 19 brands

TORONTO — It’s the final straw for plastic at Recipe Unlimited Corporation.

The restaurant giant, formerly known as Cara Operations, will start to ditch plastic straws at its 19 brands in August and replace them with compostable and biodegradable paper straws by the end of March 2019.

The company, which owns Harvey’s, Swiss Chalet, Kelsey’s and New York Fries, joins a growing group of Canadian restaurants and international food corporations that are phasing out the plastic drinking implements.

Recipe Unlimited, which has 1,382 restaurants, says compostable and biodegradable straws will automatically be provided with drink orders at its quick-serve brands. Paper straws will be available on request at its full-service restaurants such as the Pickle Barrel, The Keg and Milestones.

“Straws are just one component of the work we’re undertaking to eliminate single-use plastics from our supply chain and shift to recyclable or compostable materials,” Frank Hennessey, Recipe Unlimited’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

A&W Canada said last month it would soon switch to paper straws, while Ikea Canada promised to phase out plastic straws by 2020.

McDonald’s announced in June that it will switch to paper straws at all its locations in Britain and Ireland, and test an alternative to plastic ones in some of its U.S. restaurants this year. A McDonald’s Canada spokesman said it would monitor the trials in those countries before taking steps in Canada.

The shift comes amid global pressure from environmentalists demanding restaurants switch to compostable options in an effort to stop wildlife from getting stuck and injured by plastic and to prevent the material from littering coastlines and green spaces.