Kitch Organic on Leighton Avenue, above, is one of eight Red Bank restaurants participating in a monthlong effort to reduce the number of plastic drinking straws that don’t make it into the recycling stream.

Through December, the eateries have agreed not to give out straws to customers unless requested, said Kate Triggiano, a ReThink Disposable organizer for Clean Water Action.

The aim is to reduce the impact of the estimated 500 million plastic straws used by American consumers every day, enough to circle the planet more than two-and-a-half times, she said. Many of them aren’t recycled and end up in ocean waters, endangering sea animals, and on beaches around the globe.

Participating are:

Kitch Organic

The Cheese Cave

Toast

Shapiro’s New York Style Delicatessen

Earth Pizza

Good Karma 

That Hot Dog Place

West Side Eatery

The campaign is also taking place in Asbury Park and Montclair, said Triggiano, a borough resident who serves as vice chairperson of the Environmental Commission.