The issue of plastics littering our oceans and soil infuriates us. The issue can easily be solved by allowing for hemp based plastics to be produced. Another solution is PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) Bio-Plastic, we believe this is the future, if only governments started taking action. in 2016 we worked with a Dutch/Thai company named Total Corbion to try and produce our own PLA plastic straws. It proved beyond our ability to succeed, as it requires full commitment. We sincerely hope to inspire someone reading this to pick up where we left off and bring a whole range of PLA straws and packaging products to market... We will be pleased to be your first customer.

(One of our many failed attempts to produce a bio-plastic straw from tapioca & glycerin using a silicon core)

Plastic Straws

We have tried everything, paper (gets mushy too fast), bamboo (too thick), morning glory stalks (too novelty, not practical), stainless steel (feels medical), we have found success with glass straws. Please don't steal them, we will sell them for just slightly above our cost. We bathe the glass straws in rubbing alcohol before washing with soap and water. For those who are adamant to use a plastic straw, we do have them and can provide them, we recycle after use..

There are a few suppliers of PLA plastic straws in China, you can find them on Alibaba.com. We almost made a big purchase from JTD Manufacturer (hk-lalidelighting.com) in 2017, minimum order is 5000 straws, but shipping costs was far too expensive, especially that we are not able to test them for usability and storability in Phuket's humidity. If anyone wants to take on importing them, please contact us and we will make a pre-order purchase from you.
[ Where to Buy Glass Straws ]

Single Use Plastics

We us glass, stainless steel and re-useable food-grade plastic storage containers and rarely use single-use plastics. A popular method at restaurants is "sous vide", which does in fact perfectly cook foods, but also puts plastic directly into the food and also involves tremendous plastic waste. We do NOT do sous vide for these two reasons.
[ More Info on Sous Vide Plastic ]

Take Away Packaging

We do our best to minimize use of plastics in our takeaway packaging by sticking with paper and tinfoil as much as possible. We are constantly looking for better purely bio-friendly packaging. If you have a idea for a more eco-friendly packaging container in any of our take-away items, and can point us to a source where we can purchase it, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Plastic Bottled Water

While selling plastic bottled water is a quick easy way for a restaurant to make money, we are more concerned with the oceans and don't want to see that plastic end up there, so we provide free water in glass jugs which we get from Phuket IKEA. The water is filtered and purified and safe for drinking. That said, we do have plastic bottled water available to those that demand it, and we recycle the empty plastic bottle afterward.
[ More Info on Bottled Water Plastic ]

Plastic Microfiber Clothing

Our staff uniform shirts are pure cotton, and we teach all staff to stay away from clothes that contain plastic micro-fibers as much as possible. Of course, we cannot demand it.
[ More Info on Microfibers in Clothing ]

Recycling

We recycle all our waste products and plastics. As an FYI, Phuket set up recycling bins at the base of most piers leading out to sea. While these are specifically designed to prevent people from throwing waste into the sea, they are open for anyone to use and properly discard of waste.

Be Proactive

The easiest way to try and make a positive impact is to contact the owner of a small restaurant or coffee shop and pressure them to stop using plastics... Easy, but not fair, nor effective at helping to solve the big picture problem.

If you can point the owner directly to a readily available source of eco-friendly alternatives of similar quality, and it only becomes a matter of costs, well then yes, it is fair to pressure them to make the switch. But again, perhaps it is not the most effective use of your time.

Per the control pyramid depicted below, accessibility to key decision makers gets more difficult as you work your way from the bottom up, and practically impossible to approach from the top down. We suggest the most impactful approach is middle-out.

Approach the plastic packaging manufacturers and pressure them to produce and supply us with eco-friendly bio-plastic alternatives!!! That is where the rubber meets the road. If they aren't supplying it, how can we be blamed for not having it?

Work your way up to local government representatives, pressure them to demand the manufacturers produce eco-friendly alternatives. Work your way down to the big nation-wide stores selling these products and pressure them to source and stock eco-friendly alternatives. Thank you for hearing out our views on the matter.