Palace bans straws at cafe

BUCKINGHAM Palace will ban straws at its cafe from this summer, as the national campaign to turn the tide on plastic grows.

The company that runs the restaurant at the royal residence – which opens for around two months each summer when the Queen is away in Scotland – yesterday said it had already begun to phase out plastic straws.

It means the Queen’s official London home should be ‘straw-free’ when it opens to tourists this summer. The edict will also come into effect at her official Scottish residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Royal Household has taken steps to reduce its use of plastics with environmental initiatives stretching back many years.

A spokesman said: ‘The Royal Household is committed to reducing its environmental impact and embedding environmental sustainability across the organisation.’

Robin Bidgood, of CH&Co Group – parent firm of Ampersand, which runs Garden Cafe at Buckingham Palace – said: ‘The majority of Ampersand’s sites no longer use plastic straws and the process will be completed imminently.’