(Image source from: NDTV.com)

American Airlines, the world's ample airline is gearing-up to halt usage of plastic straws and drink stirs by replacing them with perishable alternatives.

The American said on Tuesday that starting this month in its airport lounge it will serve drinks with straw and wood stir sticks and begin moving to what it called eco-friendly flatware.

It further said that in November on board planes it will replace plastic stir sticks with ones made from bamboo. It moves will eliminate more than 71,000 pounds of plastic a year.

The fifth-largest U.S. carrier Alaska Airlines said in May that it would phase out plastic straws and citrus picks starting this summer and replace them with "sustainable, marine-friendly alternatives." According to representatives of those carriers, larger U.S. airlines - Delta, United, and Southwest, still use plastic straws.

Some cities have prohibited plastic straws since they are frequently not recycled and land up as trash in landfills and oceans. Starbucks and other food companies have recently proclaimed they will phase out plastic straws and polystyrene foam cups from their stores by 2020.

The similar moves are being followed by hotels. Hyatt Hotels Corp. said this week it will rid of plastic straws and drink stirs from all its properties by Sept. 1. Hyatt said it will supply straws by request only and will use environmentally friendly alternatives where they are available.

Hilton Hotels too said it will withdraw straws from the 650 properties it negotiate by the end of 2018. Hilton estimates that move will eliminate more than 35 million straws yearly.

By Sowmya Sangam