Tokyo hotel to trial newly developed wooden straws, ban plastic

A hotel operator in Tokyo said Tuesday it will trial from January wooden straws in its restaurant while banning plastic straws in dining facilities and its bar by next April amid global efforts to reduce marine plastic pollution.The new disposable straws, developed by The Capitol Hotel Tokyu Co. and wooden house builder Aqurahome Co., are made by curling thinly sliced domestic plantation timbers obtained after they had been cut down in forest thinning operations.The straws, the brainchild of environmental journalist Yuri Takeda, will be used in the hotel's restaurant "ORIGAMI" from Jan. 16.…READ FULL ARTICLE