Falls Church, Va.-based Inova Health System will eliminate plastic straws and reduce single-use plastic items in public areas as part of a push toward environmental sustainability.
Here are five things to know:
1. Across its system, Inova uses about 1 mile of straws per day. This adds up to 3 million plastic straws annually.
2. The initiative to ban plastic straws at all five hospitals is part of Inova's push toward eliminating all single-use plastic items, including forks, coffee stirrers and cups.
3. Inova is looking into environmentally friendly alternatives for straws, which are an essential tool for people with disabilities.
4. The health system will eliminate plastic straws by Nov. 15.
5. "We are proud to be the first health system on the East Coast to eliminate plastic straws and look forward to partnering with our vendors to reduce unnecessary impact on the environment," said J. Stephen Jones, MD, Inova's president and CEO.