Dear Pecado Bueno,

First, I would like to thank you for having my favorite pork tacos in Seattle. Are you the most authentic Mexican food in the city? Definitely not, but your pork is no joke, and we love your deliciousness. Even better, you have managed to cultivate an atmosphere where around dinner time there are lots of real grownups having happy hour, but we don't feel unwelcome with our crazed toddler. That's a magical gift to parents who don't want to only eat at horrible chains or at 2:30.

So thank you, for your tacos and your awesomeness.

The problem is this. Anytime we order a pop or a drink at your restaurant, you already have an unwrapped straw in the glass. It makes sense with your bar/ restaurant midpoint style, but it is a total bummer. Plastic straws are a huge threat to our oceans and our sea life. The average American makes a larger volume of waste with straws than with cars, and straws are worse because they are so small they can be hard to clean up. They also get can be ingested by sea life like turtles (have you seen the videos? they are haunting). Despite the ways we know it is ravaging our oceans, American restaurants serve 500 million straws a day. That includes you. You can read a lot more about why this matters here.

Plastic will outnumber fish in the oceans by 2050 at this rate, and restaurants like yours can play a huge role in reversing this trend.

How to do it? Simple, stop serving straws no one is asking for. Studies show that most people won't ask for a straw if they aren't given one (because we all can handle a regular cup), so if you make straws by request only, you can cut down most of your straw use immediately. If you want to do even better by our oceans, switch to paper straws! They are more expensive, but if you are only handing them one when someone asks, the cost might still be less.

It's a big change, I know, and just one more thing for a business to worry about. Other restaurants are starting to take this route, and it is working. You can put up signs so your customers know what is up! Some restaurants are even using buttons. If you want more tips for how to make this switch for your margaritas and fanta (that's what we drink. Not together though, that would be gross), try The Last Plastic Straw.

I do love your tacos, but I know you could make your business that much better (especially in eco-friendly Seattle) by cutting out these harmful and totally unnecessary straws.

Thanks!

Sunshine Guerrilla