More than 2,000 multi-use straws were on Thursday bought by people as part of the campaign by children at the special school Ayios Spyridonas to put an end to the use of plastic drinking straws in Larnaca.
The initiative by the pupils intends to replace the conventional plastic straws in the area with biodegradable and multi-use ones in schools, restaurants, cafes, hotels and houses by the end of 2020.
The biodegradable straws are made of compressed paper and multi-use straws can be made of metal, glass, bamboo and silicone.
A total of 2,179 children attending public kindergarten in the Larnaca district will receive the straws free of charge under the programme ‘a multi-use straw for every student’.
In addition to the hundreds of people in bars and cafes who say no to straws when they order a drink, 800 pupils of private schools have adopted the action by buying multi-purpose straws, educator Maria Psylolichnou said.
The next step is to ensure money is available to buy multi-use straws for the 19,000 students attending primary, secondary and technical schools in the Larnaca region, she added, complementing the children on their campaign which has been running since the beginning of September.
The municipality has embraced and supported the effort by the school from the very first moment, Mayor Andreas Vyras said at a press conference.
“This is a commendable effort by the children of the special school,” he said, adding he wishes them success in giving an example to everyone to implement this action.
Community leader of Oroklini, Neophytos Fakonti, said at the beginning of the campaign that the community will participate in the initiative in every way.
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