Anyone who has bought a take-out coffee at the McIntyre Coffee Shop the past couple weeks has had the option of using a piece of uncooked spaghetti instead of a stir stick.
Co-owner Michael Duciaume says it’s something he learned about from a coffee shop in Southern Ontario.
“We use a lot of plastic items like any restaurant,” he remarks. “We’re just trying to really cut down on that.”
Duciaume says reaction has been largely positive. There have been a few minor complaints, but he’s looking at a bigger, environmental picture.
“Just reducing single-use plastics as a whole,” he explains. “I mean reducing waste in landfills and a lot of the single-use plastics can’t be recycled because they have food on them and things like that. So just finding some kind of biodegradable or compostable alternative is what we want to aim for.
“We do want to accommodate everyon,e and I know that a lot of people are concerned about gluten, so they do want to stay away from things like spaghetti, so we do have wooden stir sticks as well.”
As much as the coffee shop is moving towards alternatives, Duciaume says that so are many other restaurant. It’s a classic case of supply and demand, with the cost of those alternatives climbing quickly.