7-Eleven Introduced a Genius Recycling Program That Will Help Protect Whales, Turtles, and Countless Other Marine Animals!

7-Eleven has just launched a nationwide recycling program targeting plastic straws throughout all their Australia locations. The new initiative comes in addition to their year-old cup recycling program that has helped reduce the company’s footprint. This new program will make sure non-biodegradable items such as straws, cups, and lids will find their way into a recycling facility – instead of into the ocean.

The project was created in partnership with Simply Cups, which teamed up with 7-Eleven to save takeaway cups from landfills and recycle them into a number of new items, Nine.com.au reports. According to the brand, more than 1.48 million cups have been collected thanks to the program since March 2018.

“We believe we have a responsibility to take the lead and find a solution to plastic ending up in a landfill,” Angus McKay, 7-Eleven’s Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement. “A problem this size requires multiple solutions and we want to drive a behavior change and help people dispose of their takeaway cups and straws responsibly.”

Dedicated bins, separate for coffee cups, Slurpee cups, and lids and straws, were installed in more than 200 7-Eleven stores across Australia.

The company is also debuting the world’s first reusable cup made entirely out of re-purposed takeaway cups, the “rCUP.”

Simply Cups Australia

Refusing single-use plastics and opting for reusable or biodegradable alternatives is still the best option while grabbing a cup of coffee on the go, but 7-Eleven’s recycling scheme is great news and will save a great amount of plastic from needlessly ending up in the environment – especially since the company is one of the very largest takeaway coffee suppliers in Australia.

Every year, over 8.8 million tons of plastic enter the oceans where they pose a threat to defenseless marine animals. It’s estimated that 700 marine species are currently on the brink of extinction thanks to plastic Pollution. While it might be hard to imagine what our plastic is really doing to marine life, there have been countless heartbreaking examples, such as the turtle who was found with a plastic straw lodged up his nose.

It is wonderful to see Australian 7-Elevens taking action to reduce plastic waste, but for the sake of sea turtles, whales, dolphins, and every other marine animal, we all need to step up and do what we can to remove plastic from our lives.

To find out how you can help make a change, check out One Green Planet’s #CrushPlastic campaign!

Lead image source: Mike Mozart/Flickr