Sip On This: No Plastic Straws In Salem Schools

SALEM, MA -- Saying she "hates" plastic straws, Salem Public Schools Food Services Director Deb Jeffers will do away with them when students return to school next month. The district is changing the way it dispenses utensils to students, and part of that change will be to do away with straws entirely. The move comes as major chains have said they will replace plastic drinking straws with more environmentally-friendly paper straws.

"I wanted to get rid of the straws," Jeffers told the Salem News, which first reported this story. "I hate them." As part of the move, Salem Schools are replacing the "spork kit" that included napkin, multi-use utensil and napkin -- with dispensers where students can take the items they need.

The school system will still make plastic straws available for students with disabilities and will beginning offering paper straws to all students sometime this fall.

For more on this story, see the Salem News. Subscribe to Salem Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).