Pretty soon you won't find a plastic drinking straw anywhere in sight at this Hudson Valley college dining hall.

Bon Appétit Management Company announced on Thursday that they would become the very first company to the United States to start  phasing out the use of plastic drinking straws. The drinking straw ban will go into effect at all of their 1,000 dining establishments across the country, including a large number of college cafeterias and dining halls.

Last month the University of Portland became the first campus to ban plastic straws, now the move by Bon Appétit will force many more colleges to follow their lead.

Bon Appetite Management Company
Bon Appetite Management Company
loading...

Locally, Bon Appétit manages the dining hall and food service operations of Vassar College. According to a press release, plastic straws will be banned, but diners with physical disabilities or those who "strongly feel they need a straw" will be given a paper straw. Vassar is already known for taking a strong stand on social and environmental issues, so it's likely that most students will actually welcome the change.

In 2017 the food management group says they purchased 16.8 million plastic straws and almost 420,000 plastic stirrers. The CEO for Bon Appétit, Fedele Bauccio, said “When I heard the stats and learned how much damage is being done by straws — a product of convenience — my gut reaction was, we have to change this!”

More From WZAD-WCZX The Wolf