Gloucester County’s Clean Community office is encouraging Gloucester restaurants to join a “straw-free day,” which is being planned for Sept. 21, to coincide with International Coastal Cleanup Day.

According to Elisabeth Wilkins with the Clean Community office, nine of the top 10 types of items collected during beach cleanups are single-use plastic packaging and food service items.

“Many very smart people in the world are currently working on how to solve this problem from different angles,” Wilkins said. “We can make a start to do our part by trying to give up single-us plastics, like straws, occasionally … maybe just for one day.”

The askHRGreen initiative provides patrons with the opportunity to choose where they will dine that day by consulting the straw-conscious restaurant list on the Keep It Beach Clean website. “Whether restaurateurs decide to go completely straw-free, straws only on request, to instead provide pape...