In order to help to protect the environment by their own ways, many coffee shops in Da Nang now stop the use of plastic straws to replace them with stainless steel, glass and bamboo ones.

Many coffee shops in the city using environmentally-friendly straws instead of plastic ones

Amongst them is the Trinh coffee shop located on Chau Thi Vinh Te in Ngu Hanh Son District.

The shop’s owner Nguyen Quang Thanh Son, said his coffee has been put into operation for 6 months. Initially, his shop used bamboo straws, but his visitors hesitated to use re-useable straws which are not always hygienic or easy to clean.

Therefore, in attempting to win the trust of customers, Mr Son has replaced bamboo straws with glass and stainless steel ones which are easier to clean. Thanks to this, customers feel more confident as using these types of straws.

“The cleaning process of glass and stainless steel straws features 4 stages. After being cleaned up with tap water, these straws will be cleaned more carefully with brushes. After that, they will be soaked and boiled”, Mr Son added.

The prices of these types of straws will vary depending on their sizes and styles. In particular, stainless steel straws are being sold at prices ranging between 30,000 VND to 50,000 VND each, whilst the glass straws are being offered at from 20,000 VND or more.

At present, Mr Son’s shop has a total of about 100 glass straws and 30 stainless steel straws to serve different types of drinks.

Like the Trinh shop, the Goc Nha Tui Minh café nestled in the alley No 36/36 on Le Duan has used bamboo products instead of disposable ones.

Thu An, a staff member of the shop, said that due to being familiar with plastic straws, many customers feel quite strange with reusable ones. However, visitors are now interested in using this environmentally-friendly straw.

Being one of patrons of the Trinh coffee shop, Ms Pham Thi Phuong residing in Ngu Hanh Son District remarked she and her friends were very interested in using glass and stainless steel straws, and saying 'no' to plastic one.

She noted many businesses and consumers, who are seeking ways to cut down on waste, have shunned the plastic straw which never completely breaks down and can end up in landfills or polluting oceans.

Therefore, the use of environmentally-friendly straws at the shop is helping to spread the message about reducing plastic waste amongst local residents, especially young generations.

In addition to local citizens, many visitors from other localities nationwide are showing their impression on coffee shops saying ‘no’ to single-use plastics straws.

Mr Tran Manh from Ho Chi Minh City said there were many shops using environmentally-friendly straws in Ho Chi Minh City.

He added this was the first time he had seen this kind of straw used in the central coastal city.

He suggested that more coffee and milk tea shops across the city should replace disposable products with reusable, compostable or more sustainable recycling ones in a bid to keep plastic out of the landfill.