Potato replaces plastic at La Petite Maison

French restaurant La Petite Maison’s Abu Dhabi and Dubai branches have ditched plastic drinking straws for eco-friendly equivalents made from potato starch.

La Petite Maison aims to set a positive environmental example by ditching drinking straws, stirrers and cocktail sticks made of plastic. The new items in use at La Petite Maison are made from a renewable source and are fully biodegradable, which means they won’t lurk in landfill or stay solid in the sea.

By mid-April, the venues aim to have replaced single-use plastic picks and drinks stirrers with stainless steel equivalents. It is also getting creative by creating delicious drinks – including the bestselling Petite Coco – to consume straight from the glass, no straw required.

“These new items are similar in feel and function to plastic straws, but without the environmental harm,” says general manager, Frank Serroul. “We have to condition our guests to stop expecting straws. The idea is to challenge customers’ expectation that drinks should automatically come with straws.”

Starting small is a common mantra amongst environmental activists, as seen in the growing global push to eliminate single-use plastics. A single straw, for example, takes more than 500 years to break down into smaller particles known as microplastics. Many marine creatures have ingested plastic; it can also become embedded in sea turtles’ noses and cause fish and dolphins to choke. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, by 2050 the quantity of plastic in the oceans will outweigh that of fish.