Year 11 high school student Sam Fricker has a message for plastic-straw users - they suck.
The Cronulla teenager is on a mission to remove the environmentally 'unfriendly' and drink sipping sticks from the shire.
When he's not hitting the books at school, Sam, 17, is growing his green venture. He is the director and co-founder of TSARIAN, which creates sustainable solutions to single-use plastics.
It all started when the talented sports star, who is also on the Australian National Diving team, created his company after seeing the community respond to removing single-use plastics through initiatives including 'Plastic-Free Cronulla', a non-profit movement that encourages businesses to cut plastic straws and other single-use plastic products from service.
He volunteers for and helps raise awareness of the movement.
"I have always had an entrepreneurial mind," he said. "I live near the beach and I see the effects of plastic on a daily basis. It takes a 100 years to break down and paper is no good because it just falls apart."
One shire business that has jumped on board is Mr Paisleys Cafe at Caringbah, which now uses natural wheat drinking straws. Sam also sells them on Amazon in the US. They're even gluten free.
"It was the first cafe I walked into. I just pitched my idea and it went from there," Sam said.
"I'm striving to supply every cafe and beverage shop by working with the Chamber of Commerce and The Plastic Free Cronulla movement to do this.
"Earlier this year I also had a meeting at Woolworths head office about them stocking my product on their shelves. They seemed interested and I'll go back to them when I have a range because I'm also looking at eco-cutlery, plates and napkins."
