Annapolis Green Encourages Everyone To Stop Using Plastic

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Plastic Free Annapolis, a public education campaign spanning from Aug. 20 to Sept. 20, may be over but its leaders are not done yet. Plastic pollution is a significant environmental threat around the world, which prompted Annapolis Green and the City of Annapolis to team up and tackle this issue together locally.

Plastic Free Annapolis encourages residents and businesses to reduce their level of plastic pollution and push forward environmental stewardship. During the campaign, the City of Annapolis contacted businesses including hoteliers, proprietors of restaurants, bars and coffee shops, and charter boat owners to help them reevaluate how much plastic they use and consider switching to other options.

Those efforts don't have to end Sept. 20 with the campaign, however. Everyone across Anne Arundel County is encouraged to move away from using plastic products like straws and cutlery and instead utilize compostable and reusable products. Not only will those efforts help the environment, but will help reduce the amount of plastic pollution pouring into the Chesapeake Bay.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Chesapeake Bay has been tested and shown to have a higher amount of plastic pollution than the oceans. Jeff Corbin, senior advisor for the Chesapeake Bay and Anacostia River with the EPA, said he was "shocked at the amount of plastics that emerged from our sample net."

"My theory was that the Chesapeake Bay is too dynamic, with its constant tides, winds and currents, as opposed to the somewhat quiet open ocean circulation patterns that can concentrate plastics pollution. I was wrong," he wrote in a blog.

Elvia Thompson, president and co-founder of Annapolis Green, told Patch that the group has incorporated the reduction of plastic straws into a "bigger campaign that incorporates all other types of single-use plastics, such as cutlery, cups, bags, balloons, plates, throw-away tablecloths and more."

"The issue of plastic is bigger than straws… that is why Annapolis Green’s lead-up campaign to Plastic Free Annapolis was called 'It Starts with a Straw,'" Thompson told Patch. "Anything we can do to reduce throw-away plastic of all kinds at its source is good. The businesses listed in our Plastic Free Annapolis campaign are addressing plastic straws and more."

Thompson emphasized that the Earth is "drowning in plastic" and something must be done now before the devastating impact becomes irreversible.

"We have all seen reports of damage being done to our oceans and marine wildlife. It is no less so in the Chesapeake Bay. While we may not have a ‘garbage patch’ in the Chesapeake, the plastic is there. Every water sample taken shows that microplastics and microfibers are ubiquitous. Further, plastic is made from petroleum – a fossil fuel. Given the severity of the Climate Crisis, reducing our individual plastic footprint is the right thing to do – at home, at work and at play," Thompson told Patch.

Current local businesses who have vowed to reduce their plastic use are as follows:

• 49 West Coffeehouse, Winebar & Gallery
• Annapolis Market House
• Annapolis Yacht Club
• Bread & Butter Kitchen
• Carrol’s Creek Café
• Chesapeake Brewing Company
• Evelyn’s
• Galway Bay Irish Restaurant & Pub
• Hilton Garden Inn Annapolis
• Luna Blu Ristorante Italiano
• O’Learys Seafood Restaurant
• Rasa Juice Shop
• Schooner Woodwind
• Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
• Annapolis Waterfront Hotel
• Bakers & Co.
• Brown Mustache Café
• Chesapeake Bay Trust
• Eastport Democratic Club
• Flamant
• Harry Browne’s
• Inn at Horn Point
• Main and Market
• Preserve
• Rutabaga
• Taro Smoothies
• Annapolis Maritime Museum
• Annebeth’s
• Boatyard Bar & Grill
• Café Olé
• Chesapeake Bayhawks Club Level
• Eastport Yacht Club
• Fleet Reserve Club of Annapolis
• Harvest Wood Grill + Tap
• Iron Rooster
• Metropolitan Kitchen & Lounge
• Pusser’s Caribbean Grille
• Sailor Oyster Bar
• The Red Bean
• Watermark