If you decide to eat out on Monday, there's a chance you won't get a straw with your drink and no, it's not a mistake.
Restaurants across Hampton Roads are sending a message this Earth Day; it's time to cut down on straw use.
The effort is called "Straw-Free Earth Day" and it's organized by Keep it Beachy Clean and askHRgreen.org. Participating restaurants are asked to only give out straws if they're requested and to try and use paper straws over plastic for people who require them.
According to askHRgreen.org, single-use plastic straws are in the top 10 most littered items. They can get into our waterways and break up into small pieces becoming microplastics.
Microplastics can get into drinking water and seafood with marine life often mistaking it for food.
Straws aren't the only plastic hazard causing problems. In March, scientists found a whale died of dehydration and starvation after eating 88 pounds of plastic bags.
Click here for a list of Hampton Roads restaurants going straw-free.
