As a featured guest on the acclaimed The Kojo Nnamdi Show, heard on Washington, D.C.’s NPR member-station WAMU 88.5, our very own Dan Simons was out in front today speaking to the coalition of DC area restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, and event venues he created with one shared mission: to eliminate single-use plastic straws in restaurants. Our Last Straw was the topic of today’s show as the title suggests, DC Sets its Sights on The Last Straw.

Dan and his fellow guests, Katherine Antos of DC’s Department of Energy & Environment and Roland Geyer Professor of Industrial Ecology & Green Supply Chain Management at the University of California, offered their insight on DC’s ban on plastic straws that went into effect on January 1st, and much more.

Always working to push sustainability in the restaurant industry further, Dan was also featured in a recent Washington Post article discussing Our Last Straw efforts and whether DC restaurants are adhering to the city’s plastic straw ban. In the article, Dan was quoted as a noted pioneer of this movement. In part Dan said, “When you are really getting into discussions with people on this topic and you look at photos and videos about the amount of trash in the ocean, this is just so logical and obvious that human behavior needs to change.”

Dan’s next step forward to raise awareness for Our Last Straw is to have the coalition act as a repository for plastic straws from other businesses, through developing a deal with a recycling facility to accept a large shipment of straws at once, avoiding the problems of thin plastic straws being lost in equipment during material sorting. “Soon, it will be Our Last Plastic Fork,” Dan said. “It’s really an item-by-item, single-use plastic reduction and replacement strategy.”

Read the full Washington Post article here.

Next up? Dan was recently named a leading Personal Branding Expert by The New Savvy, Asia’s premier online financial, investment, and career platform. Remarking on his climb to success, Dan was noted as a distinguished restaurant and hospitality industry leader on ethical operations, leadership,  restaurant concept development, and entrepreneurship. The piece also recognized Dan as “a champion for environmental protection and workers rights, and has successfully incorporated ethical operations into his marketing and organization, resulting in breakneck growth for his company.”

Kudos to our very own, Dan Simons.