A&W will be making the move to paper biodegradable straws this fall, making them the first fast-food chain in North America to do so.

Moose Jaw will obviously be making the switch over with the rest of the restaurants across Canada, and it could come sooner than most expect.

"We've been really focused on waste reduction for many many years, and it really dates back to our beginning in Manitoba when we started serving root beer in a glass mug," explained Tyler Pronyk, Director of Distribution, Equipment

Moose Jaw's two A&W will be making the switch to biodegradable straws with the rest of North America.and Packaging for A&W. "So we've always just tried to find ways to just not generate waste."

If you've eaten inside A&W often, you probably already recognized this. They use ceramic plates and metal cutlery for breakfast and metal baskets for fries instead of paper packaging in-store.

You may be wondering how these 'paper' straws would work in cups but they actually work well enough. The straws will last two to three hours in a drink without breaking down and biodegrade in a landfill within three to six months.

Plastic straws are already making its way out in some places across Canada. In total, several municipalities have banned them, making this a logical move for A&W to go ahead and do now. In doing so, they estimate 82 million straws will be taken out of landfills next year.

Pronyk went on to say he believes other chains would follow in their footsteps.

"There are so many good examples, in the food service industry we're all trying to find ways that we can be sustainable and reduce our impact," Pronyk said. "So I wouldn't be surprised if we others doing similar actions like this or looking at things like reusable packaging."

We can expect to start seeing the plastic straws phased out of the restaurant in September, and fully gone by the end of October or beginning of November.