This mall just became the first in Canada to ban single-use plastic straws

As part of the launch of Waste Reduction week taking place in October, Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre is set to eliminate single-use plastic straws.

Shoppers will be able to receive straws that are BPI certified — meaning they’re compostable — and there’s always the option to bring your own reusable one along for your day of shopping.

This initiative makes Yorkdale the first shopping centre in Canada to eliminate single-use plastic straws.

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Shifting away from single-use plastic straws that go straight into the garbage, towards compostable straws is one way that the shopping centre says it is working to help the environment.

Other environmental initiatives the mall has put into place include reusable dinnerware and cutlery at Dine on 3, (the mall’s dining area), an urban garden (which donates crops to local food banks when full capacity is reached), solar panels, and rooftop greenery and beehives.

The efforts the shopping centre is making towards reducing its environmental footprint mirrors the intentions set across the city, province, and country, from openings of local zero-waste shops to the Liberals’ goal of banning single-use plastics across Canada by 2021.