SLURP at Cooper’s Seafood House


SLURP at Cooper’s Seafood House

SCRANTON, Pa. — There’s lots of slurping at Cooper’s Seafood House in Scranton, but it is not what you think.

SLURP stands for “Straws Literally Upon Request Policy.” It means customers will not get plastic straws unless they request them.

“We’re gonna see how it goes. Already it’s been received pretty well by customers,” said Paul Cooper of Cooper’s Seafood House.

“It’s been very positive. We’re gonna run with it,” agreed Jack Cooper.

Plastic straws are not biodegradable, and environmentalists say Americans use 500 million a day; many pollute the ocean, killing wildlife.

Cooper’s is far from the only business diving into this kind of effort. Starbucks recently announced it will phase out plastic straws by 2020. McDonald’s is doing the same in some parts of Europe.

“No straws? I think it’s a little weird because I’m just so used to drinking out of a straw. I don’t know. A paper straw would be alright, I guess,” said Michael Walsh of Scranton.

The owners of Cooper’s say they go through between 7,000 and 10,000 straws a week and this new campaign will put a dent in that number.

“I think it’s wonderful that Scranton is getting on board with the no-straw initiative. Down in Florida, it’s very popular because straws can be very damaging to wildlife,” said Justin Freedman.

Freedman is a marine biologist and calls SLURP a great policy. His family is toasting it.

“I think that’s a great effort. I think we should be biodegradable 100 percent, and we should get rid of the plastic,” said Marcia Johnson of Scranton.

The Coopers are looking into alternative straws, like paper ones, and expect to have them next week.

This story was originally published on WNEP