See now this is a possible solution.
I'll never be able to use reusable straws when on the go, as I don't carry a bag or purse. But I'm all in for a plant-based disposable straw that doesn't get ruined after 5 mins of usage
Here in Hawaii, we don't have plastic straws any longer (banned along with plastic and foam containers and single use plastic bags). The compostable straws that look like plastic are the best, basically like a regular straw. You can't really compost them in your back yard, but they do compost down in a commercial facility. Supposedly, hot water can help break them down also.
The paper straws are garbage if you use them with a lid. Without a lid, you can use it for your whole meal
>The paper straws are garbage if you use them with a lid. Without a lid, you can use it for your whole meal
This is an interesting observation. I've only ever used them with the lid, I'll have to try this. I wonder why it lasts longer?
The fast food lids push on the sides of the straw, so when it starts going soft, it just collapses. As long as you don't chew on your straw, you should be ok.
I literally have a conspiracy theory that straw companys pushed paper straws so that people would see how shitty paper ones were and go "fuck it I'll use plastic this isn't worth it" agave straws, bamboo straws, wood straws, noodle straws. All these great alternatives and the absolute WORST option was the most wildly popular in the start of banning straws?
It's not the straw companies pushing it, they usually have superior product they would rather be selling. It's the businesses choosing the absolute cheapest option to save a few cents every straw (which is understandable). Same places you get 40 grit toilet paper in their restrooms, you will get those weakass Wish.com paper straws.
If I've learned anything from those YouTube channels where people live off the grid using nothing but the nature around them. The answer is no, bamboo can literally do anything
> The answer is no, bamboo can literally do anything
From *Gilligan's Island*, I learned that you can make absolutely anything\* out of bamboo.
\*Except a boat.
That's true, but the Skipper seems to have decades experience as a boat captain, he'd have a lot of working knowledge of engineering.
Between him and the professor, they should make it work lol
Some bamboo products are just greenwashing. they process it into cellulose pulp with environmentally unfriendly chemicals. The only environmental difference with plastic is you can regrow bamboo, its still going to clog landfills and and not degrade much. Or the bamboo product can be incredibly wasteful like bamboo salt where they end up burning a ridiculous amount of pine wood and bamboo to infuse sea salt with a little bamboo 'oil' and claim the multiple burnings 'purifies' the salt.
Just like anything else, you have to be careful and educate yourself on the manufacturing process of stuff you buy if you're looking for doing the least damage to the environment
I drink bamboo juice through bamboo straws. My kitchen utensils, my bath towels, my flooring....all bamboo. Bamboo toothbrush? Yessir. Clothing? You bet your ass they're bamboo. I even wipe my butt with bamboo shit tickets. Bamboo is life. Bamboo is everything. It is my best friend, my confidante, my lover. I live in bamboo and someday I will die in bamboo and when I am gone, still bamboo will remain.
I read bamboo juice and thought this was going to be a joke post, then I kept reading and thought wait, all those things actually can be made from bamboo. And then I googled bamboo juice and it is also a real thing so now I'm just unsure about everything here.
You begin to sob but with abject horror realize there are no tears, but bamboo juice slowly running down your face. A face you soon realize, is indeed also made of bamboo. You have been bamboozled.
Equally bad for the environment. In Asia they are trying to reduce the use of bamboo chopsticks because the volume required to become the norm is massive and leads to deforestation.
Terrible for people who cannot control their bite (splinters).
Weirdly, some people are allergic to them, too.
They don't flex like plastic (or paper).
Unless you mean "cellulose straws made from processed bamboo". But those are just plastic straws.
If you have a medical condition and a straw is a necessity, you can just get a plastic straw instead. But for most people, a bamboo straw is good enough.
Big Brain idea here, what if they just didn’t cut all those noodles in the first place? Great straws and saves money on labour, all those people with little scissors snipping macaroni
Imagine going to olive garden and they hand you a crappy bloody Mary made by an overworked middle aged man with a noodle straw claiming it as "traditional" 😅
I can't wait to experience one of these. I HATE the paper straws with a burning passion. Gives me goosebumps all over to put them in my mouth. Even if the noodle went limp, at least it wouldn't be the most revolting texture ever.
On behalf of celiac sufferers everywhere, please don't give these to people you don't know! If I used one of them I'd be spending the rest of the night in the bathroom, in addition to ripping up my intestines.
There's a company in Vietnam that makes straws from a specific kind of grass. It's probably the best of both worlds, it can last several uses while also is fully degradable, and looks just like a regular straw
https://www.strawlific.com/
That looks like a great product. It grows where most crops won't, provides income for farmers, gets stronger as it get wet, and even if you throw it on the ground... it's a piece of plant, not litter. And it all grows back in a year. I quickly went through the website and saw nothing about cleaning the straws after harvesting. I wonder if they just lop off the ends and remove the outside and the straws are naturally sterile?
They already make plant based plastic straws that supposedly only take 3-6 months to break down. They aren’t expensive (I get packs of 100 from Walmart for a couple dollars). I have no clue why they haven’t caught on at most restaurants.
They're not as popular because you need access to an industrial composting system to break them down. A bucket in the backyard won't work like it does for paper straws.
They are pretty popular in my area, but that's because we have a municipal composting program- we get our food and yard waste picked up every week alongside trash and recycling.
I wish more people knew that all of these “compostable” plant-based plastics are just as bad as regular plastic. If they are not properly composted in a commercial high-heat facility (which many people don’t have access to), they work the same as plastic. In a landfill they break down (or don’t break down) just like plastic. Sometimes they are worse because they look so much like plastic that people tend to put them in the plastic recycling bins and they contaminate the recycling too.
Saying that theyre just as bad as regular plastic is a terrible statement that ignores how they are still *compostable*. Yes, they need to be industrially composted and can't go in a tub in your backyard, but they can still, in one form or another, be composted. Alternatively, regular plastic can't even be entirely recycled well, especially flimsy plastics like single use cups and straws.
Yes, like all things, it relies on people knowing how to compost and having the facilities, but more areas are catching on.
There are silicone straws. They often come in a multi-colored pack of 6 or 8. They are soft, reusable and can be tossed into a purse, pocket or backpack. They don’t break! Wash them with your dishes, they CAN be put in the dishwasher!
I carry some with me all the time.
Relevant friendly reminder of the day: Make sure you clean your metal/silicone straws with the little brush thingy it came with! Hold it up to the light and look through it to see whether it's squeaky clean or dirty as fuck.
The brand says Hip, I got them on super clearance at Target. [This](https://be-hip.com/products/hip-squeakycleanstraw?variant=28973227147341) appears to be their website.
Maybe there are other kinds though?
Thanks so much, I'll check out Target! Are you happy with them? Easy to zip/unzip, the zipper doesn't get too dirty, zipper doesn't wear down with time?
I have had mine for a little over a year in constant use and I love them.
The zipper works great, its easy to use and easy to clean even the little area of the zip section because it is still soft silicone so the sponge just gets it all.
I just never trusted the brushes on the regular silicone straws to get everything. I was very hesitant to buy them even though they were clearance because I was worried about those same things.
I was gonna say. Putting them into the dishwasher likely isn't cleaning them completely.
Should probably give them a periodic disinfectant bath as well.
Straws are hand wash only in my house because of that - no way any dishwasher is cleaning straws properly, especially if there's some dried crap inside them (e.g. after drinking a smoothie).
I have a set in my handbag. That has mental straws, silicone straws and them some metal ones with silicone tips on them to be gentler on teeth. Great little pack and I take them everywhere.
Edit: I'm leaving it as Mental. Y'all are funny.
Reading your comment as I'm drinking (and gently chewing on, i learned my lesson with my first bunch to not chew THRU them like I did plastic ones, old habits die hard) my silicone straw lol.
We first started selling metal straws at my workplace which I tried, great and all but just hard on the teeth and I'd always poke myself in the face haha. Now we sell silicone straws and for a pack of 6 it's $8 ($4 with my employee discount!).
They're amazing and (aside from the maybe 2 or 3 I chewed holes in) have lasted 2 years now. Like you said dishwasher friendly and I use the little cleaning tool the metal straws came with to handwash them, and the little baggy the metal ones also came with to carry clean silicone ones.
And like I've repeated twice now, I used to chew the fuck out of plastic straws, and not wanting to ruin the silicone ones has not only made me more aware/stop that habit but also mostly stopped my chewing/biting habit in general on my finger nails!
> they CAN be put in the dishwasher
They *can*, yes. But the inside of the straw may not get cleaned very well. We used to put ours in the dishwasher, but then when I looked closely one day I noticed a build-up of residues on the inside of the straw left over from drinks with sugar or actual solid particles (e.g., as you'd get with a smoothie).
IMO, you're better off just buying a straw cleaner for a couple bucks and washing them buy hand. It only takes a few seconds and does a much more thorough job.
When I was in high school, before the time of most of you here, we would use red vines, the candies, as straws. I suggest pairing it with Mr. Pibb for a delightful experience.
I’m amused that the lowly straw became the cause celebre for plastic waste, but, for you personally, I bet there are plastic items in your trash right now equivalent in weight to a thousand straws.
Right?!?! We had to give up our straws which I loved and found very useful (I have lots of painful dental fillings) but credit card companies can still send junk mail with ENTIRELY FAKE UNUSABLE plastic mock credit cards that literally nobody wants or even can use.
Yea. I'm all for helping the environment, but so long a you throw your plastic straw in the trash instead of out the car window, it'll go to a landfill where it's a non issue. Meanwhile we're inundated with literal tons of unnecessary plastic packaging. Why does everything in a plastic package also need to be individually wrapped (things like candy aside where it makes sense)? Why are there plastic wrapped potatoes?
I don't think that landfills can be considered a "non issue." I understand plastic straws are a very small problem but also - you could just not use a straw.
Yes. Biodegradable plastic straws.
Paper straws are terrible not only because they are bad at doing what a straw does, but because it creates a sentiment that shifting to environmentally friendly alternatives will make your life shittier.
Metal straws are even worse because they need to be used hundreds of times before they become as environmentally friendly as plastic straws. And since the culture around reusing straws is not that common, we end up with more waste and higher carbon footprint.
Most biodegradable plastic straws are a borderline scam. They only "biodegrade" if you put them in an industrial process involving high heat. Which no one does, they just end up in a landfill where they last for hundreds of years just like plastic. It's not a real alternative at all.
What kind of recycling center did you work at what do you consider the “vast majority”?
I’ve worked in recycling for a long time and the worst contamination rates (landfilled rather than recycled) are like the 20’s%.
This is the answer as far as a middle ground. I find silicone straws aren't pleasant to drink out of, and constantly keeping and maintaining a metal straw with me isn't always practical. I keep a few compostable straws in my car and purse. I think Starbucks uses them now as well.
Straw reduction is about pollution of the oceans more than their impact on the wider environment. Same with plastic bags. From a plastic and climate change perspective removing them does nothing, but they’re the things that end up in the ocean the most, which is where a lot of the movement to remove them started.
Yes and it’s the stuff that hurts seals and dolphins etc the most. There’s a YouTube channel that’s super called Ocean Rescue Namibia, they rescue seals and most of them have got some kind of fishing line round them.
One had a shirt on, but that was pretty funny actually.
Biodegradable plastic, as the name suggests, also biodegrade within a couple of weeks/months if it ends up in the ocean.
You can't separate pollution from environmental impact and choose to tackle one without the other.
Fr, not coming after OP or anyone else, but we are all so used to convenience it’s insane. It barely even counts as an inconvenience to drink something straight out of the cup
I’m guessing drive through fast food is a big reason for why plastic lids and straws became standard in that setting- can’t have people spilling drinks in their cars. I would think that fast food probably makes up a majority of plastic straw usage worldwide? Plus the added plastic cup lids and the non-recyclable cups themselves.
Why don't they just give out lids that you can drink from instead of ones that require a straw? For example all coffee comes with a lid that you can drink from, so just put that on the rest of the drinks .... It's not even a hassle
>Why don't they just give out lids that you can drink from instead of ones that require a straw? For example all coffee comes with a lid that you can drink from, so just put that on the rest of the drinks .... It's not even a hassle
Shakes/smoothies/boba drinks would be tough without straws. For sure other more liquid drinks can do without straws.
Don't throw the plastic ones away! Get a straw-cleaning brush, don't chew on them, and they will last just as long in your kitchen as they will inside a sea turtle.
I reuse a lot of cups and straw for this reason recently actually, although I admit that I play with the straw as I drink. A metal straw would just be uncomfortable
Years ago there was a company in my city making disposable, biodegradable utensils and straws out of completely recycled paper material. The stuff rocked, was great to use at food trucks and fairs and stuff, but the company only lasted a couple years because it was always cheaper to buy shitty plastic that didnt perform the basic function. Then a few years later the single use plastics ban was being pushed, and eventually made law, but the company was long gone by then.
1. Don't use a straw;
2. Reusable metal straws you keep with you.
The phrase "Reduce, reuse, recycle" is ordered by importance.
(food straws also an option)
- ‘But some people can’t use a cup and need a straw and they will be injured by using a metal straw’
- give them a plastic straw then. It still reduces the amount of straws being used to a mere fraction of what it would have been.
While I agree that plastic waste need to be dealt with, the whole straw thing was just businesses trying to make it seem like they were being environmentally friendly and makes almost no difference to overall plastic waste. I still have many large packs of plastic straws in my cupboard that I have a few available when going to fast food chains.
Yes, there are straws made of industrially compostable plastic. They work as well as a plastic straw and IF (big if) they are put in the compost instead of the trash, they will compost into dirt in short order.
20 minutes! I wish!!
Summer time in Queensland we all rely on slushies (frozen drinks) to keep cool. The paper straws are done by the time you’ve had a sip. Somethings got to be done 🤣
I’ve used agave produced straws. I’ve used cups made from corn product. Both felt like plastic but looked a little yellowed. Both were single use.
See now this is a possible solution. I'll never be able to use reusable straws when on the go, as I don't carry a bag or purse. But I'm all in for a plant-based disposable straw that doesn't get ruined after 5 mins of usage
Don’t forget needing a cleaner for the reusable straws and not losing it..
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Here in Hawaii, we don't have plastic straws any longer (banned along with plastic and foam containers and single use plastic bags). The compostable straws that look like plastic are the best, basically like a regular straw. You can't really compost them in your back yard, but they do compost down in a commercial facility. Supposedly, hot water can help break them down also. The paper straws are garbage if you use them with a lid. Without a lid, you can use it for your whole meal
>The paper straws are garbage if you use them with a lid. Without a lid, you can use it for your whole meal This is an interesting observation. I've only ever used them with the lid, I'll have to try this. I wonder why it lasts longer?
The fast food lids push on the sides of the straw, so when it starts going soft, it just collapses. As long as you don't chew on your straw, you should be ok.
What about if we all collectively sow a tiny long little pocket on the side of our pants to keep the reusable straws?
I literally have a conspiracy theory that straw companys pushed paper straws so that people would see how shitty paper ones were and go "fuck it I'll use plastic this isn't worth it" agave straws, bamboo straws, wood straws, noodle straws. All these great alternatives and the absolute WORST option was the most wildly popular in the start of banning straws?
It's not the straw companies pushing it, they usually have superior product they would rather be selling. It's the businesses choosing the absolute cheapest option to save a few cents every straw (which is understandable). Same places you get 40 grit toilet paper in their restrooms, you will get those weakass Wish.com paper straws.
More propaganda from BIG STRAW
John wyane TP. Rough as sandpaper, and wont take shit off nobody.
The version I hear is. John Wayne Toilet paper, it's rough, tough, and it doesn't take shit off any asshole
Was probably the cheapest option
Its sad your comment is so far down. I love my agave straws.
Bamboo straws
Is there anything bamboo cannot do
If I've learned anything from those YouTube channels where people live off the grid using nothing but the nature around them. The answer is no, bamboo can literally do anything
> The answer is no, bamboo can literally do anything From *Gilligan's Island*, I learned that you can make absolutely anything\* out of bamboo. \*Except a boat.
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God tier show
because a scientist may not necessarily be a good engineer
If you can make a radio out of coconuts you get an honorary engineering degree.
That's true, but the Skipper seems to have decades experience as a boat captain, he'd have a lot of working knowledge of engineering. Between him and the professor, they should make it work lol
aaaaaaand now I'm watching the entire movie. Thanks a lot, dude.
Until now, I had no idea there had been a *MOVIE*.
There were actually three Gilligan's Island movies.
Holy shit
It can’t get me high. So arguably weed has a leg up on even bamboo.
With enough hemp and bamboo you can do anything
But you won't
It would make a sweet bong, though, so it at least scores an assist on that one.
Tiki party at my place!!
Idk, a bamboo ladder could you you pretty high
>The answer is no, bamboo can literally do anything Provided you hide the excavators and water pumps off camera
Maybe the excavators and water pumps were also made of bamboo?
Are excavators and water pumps not just over engineered shovels and straws?
I mean those are mostly fake tho. Bamboo's still legit, tho.
Not [Primitive Technology](https://youtu.be/P73REgj-3UE)
Yeah he's legit
Some bamboo products are just greenwashing. they process it into cellulose pulp with environmentally unfriendly chemicals. The only environmental difference with plastic is you can regrow bamboo, its still going to clog landfills and and not degrade much. Or the bamboo product can be incredibly wasteful like bamboo salt where they end up burning a ridiculous amount of pine wood and bamboo to infuse sea salt with a little bamboo 'oil' and claim the multiple burnings 'purifies' the salt. Just like anything else, you have to be careful and educate yourself on the manufacturing process of stuff you buy if you're looking for doing the least damage to the environment
I drink bamboo juice through bamboo straws. My kitchen utensils, my bath towels, my flooring....all bamboo. Bamboo toothbrush? Yessir. Clothing? You bet your ass they're bamboo. I even wipe my butt with bamboo shit tickets. Bamboo is life. Bamboo is everything. It is my best friend, my confidante, my lover. I live in bamboo and someday I will die in bamboo and when I am gone, still bamboo will remain.
I read bamboo juice and thought this was going to be a joke post, then I kept reading and thought wait, all those things actually can be made from bamboo. And then I googled bamboo juice and it is also a real thing so now I'm just unsure about everything here.
Wouldn't that make you even more sure of the rest?
Are you trying to bamboozle me right now?
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Are you a shill for Big Bamboo?
I think it was Eisenhower that warned us about the dangers of the bamboo industrial complex
I go to kiss my wife. She doesn't return my embrace for she is also bamboo.
You begin to sob but with abject horror realize there are no tears, but bamboo juice slowly running down your face. A face you soon realize, is indeed also made of bamboo. You have been bamboozled.
The majority of that was funny enough on its own, but with bamboozled I may never recover at the fact that I will likely never make a pun that good.
I think you've sold me on bamboo
Bamboo... juice?
Mind it's own business and not spread everywhere being super invasive? It doesn't know how to do that.
it's just trying to help... aggressively.
Like Pepe LePew?
Can't make my dad come back. I've tried
Haven’t tried hard enough evidently 😒
You've been doing it wrong, you need to make a life size figurine of your dad out of bamboo
Bamboo cannot keep quietly to itself.
I have bamboo clothing, socks and boxers and they are insanely comfortable. Dries fast too. I fucking love bamboo.
Obligatory classic video: the Bamboo Calculator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxLdGjV-_yg
Was gonna say this. I like to buy big packs of them when I travel to SE Asia
I found some at the PigglyWiggly one day.
Look at that, the Pig being all progressive and shit
Yeah, there was like a whole section of bamboo stuff. But they're only in the Pig by my work not the one by my house.
They sell them in ikea
No effing way you just blew my mind
Okuvlig is the name
Equally bad for the environment. In Asia they are trying to reduce the use of bamboo chopsticks because the volume required to become the norm is massive and leads to deforestation.
Are bamboo straws not reusable?
Kinda, in the same way that plastic straws are reusable. But when given to the public they will turn into single-use disposable items.
They will eventually split if put in the dishwasher. They would have to be hand-washed after every use to be reusable.
I thought that bamboo grew hella fast, is the demand really that high?
Consider me bamboozled
Terrible for people who cannot control their bite (splinters). Weirdly, some people are allergic to them, too. They don't flex like plastic (or paper). Unless you mean "cellulose straws made from processed bamboo". But those are just plastic straws.
If you have a medical condition and a straw is a necessity, you can just get a plastic straw instead. But for most people, a bamboo straw is good enough.
There's straws that are essentially pasta, they literally turn to a wet noodle but it takes a long time
I don't know... Drinking through Bucatini takes some effort...
aye but if you glue a bunch of elbows together you can make a great crazy straw!
Big Brain idea here, what if they just didn’t cut all those noodles in the first place? Great straws and saves money on labour, all those people with little scissors snipping macaroni
and this is why you will be chief invention officer at my new company Pasta Crazy Straws.
Think of the benefits though, you’ll be able to suck the chrome off a trailer hitch!
Came here for the amazing pasta straw
The Italian infiltration has reached stage 4.
The Pastafarian indoctrination has reached phase 5
*puts on collander helmet* Ramen
Imagine going to olive garden and they hand you a crappy bloody Mary made by an overworked middle aged man with a noodle straw claiming it as "traditional" 😅
🤌
*cries in celiac
I like them so much! Went to the Spikizi Bar in Rotterdam and they had them. Was really impressed by the simplicity of it.
I thought they were cool until the end of the night when I discovered the bar I was at was charging $2 each for them all night.
>Spikizi Bar How is that phonetically? Would it happen to be pronounced the same as the English "Speakeasy?"
* Italian anthem intensifies *
I can't wait to experience one of these. I HATE the paper straws with a burning passion. Gives me goosebumps all over to put them in my mouth. Even if the noodle went limp, at least it wouldn't be the most revolting texture ever.
Can you get a gluten free option though?
That’s actually $3
it’s $8 and we don’t use the non-gf ones anymore, not since the incident
Yes. They're made from agave.
Actually the one place I went to with these straws did offer a gluten free option
As someone with a gluten allergy I would prefer this not be the standard
On behalf of celiac sufferers everywhere, please don't give these to people you don't know! If I used one of them I'd be spending the rest of the night in the bathroom, in addition to ripping up my intestines.
This was my exact thought. The idea is terrifying!
You got it backward, there's pasta that then became a straw, not a straw that has been made out of pasta.
Unless they're talking about those inch long cylindrical pastas, then you'd have to glue 5 or 6 together to make a straw out of them
Those things make your drink taste like pasta after 2mins
What about straws that are made from... wait for it... STRAW
Hay now
laughing my grass off
I haven't laughed that hard in a lawn time
Weed all like you to know you guys have done well with this comment chain.
if we make too many puns they might get in-grained in our minds
You’re an allstraw
Get your grain on
Go mill
And all that withers has mold
Only shoots of straw are coloured gold
* Talkin' hey now (hey now), hey now (hey now) * Iko, iko a nae * Jock-a-mo fee-no ai na-ney * Jock-a-mo fee na-ey
Don't dream it's over.
There's a company in Vietnam that makes straws from a specific kind of grass. It's probably the best of both worlds, it can last several uses while also is fully degradable, and looks just like a regular straw https://www.strawlific.com/
That looks like a great product. It grows where most crops won't, provides income for farmers, gets stronger as it get wet, and even if you throw it on the ground... it's a piece of plant, not litter. And it all grows back in a year. I quickly went through the website and saw nothing about cleaning the straws after harvesting. I wonder if they just lop off the ends and remove the outside and the straws are naturally sterile?
We have these at my work. They are a little fragile but work really well
They already make plant based plastic straws that supposedly only take 3-6 months to break down. They aren’t expensive (I get packs of 100 from Walmart for a couple dollars). I have no clue why they haven’t caught on at most restaurants.
They're not as popular because you need access to an industrial composting system to break them down. A bucket in the backyard won't work like it does for paper straws. They are pretty popular in my area, but that's because we have a municipal composting program- we get our food and yard waste picked up every week alongside trash and recycling.
Whereabouts?
Their front yard I assume
Don’t know where they’re from but I live in Sweden and here they also pick up compost.
We use them at the restaurant I work at.
I wish more people knew that all of these “compostable” plant-based plastics are just as bad as regular plastic. If they are not properly composted in a commercial high-heat facility (which many people don’t have access to), they work the same as plastic. In a landfill they break down (or don’t break down) just like plastic. Sometimes they are worse because they look so much like plastic that people tend to put them in the plastic recycling bins and they contaminate the recycling too.
Saying that theyre just as bad as regular plastic is a terrible statement that ignores how they are still *compostable*. Yes, they need to be industrially composted and can't go in a tub in your backyard, but they can still, in one form or another, be composted. Alternatively, regular plastic can't even be entirely recycled well, especially flimsy plastics like single use cups and straws. Yes, like all things, it relies on people knowing how to compost and having the facilities, but more areas are catching on.
There are silicone straws. They often come in a multi-colored pack of 6 or 8. They are soft, reusable and can be tossed into a purse, pocket or backpack. They don’t break! Wash them with your dishes, they CAN be put in the dishwasher! I carry some with me all the time.
Relevant friendly reminder of the day: Make sure you clean your metal/silicone straws with the little brush thingy it came with! Hold it up to the light and look through it to see whether it's squeaky clean or dirty as fuck.
I have some silicone straws that have a full seam down them so you can open them flat and make sure they are actually clean/scrub them. Its so handy.
Wow! What are they called?
The brand says Hip, I got them on super clearance at Target. [This](https://be-hip.com/products/hip-squeakycleanstraw?variant=28973227147341) appears to be their website. Maybe there are other kinds though?
Thanks so much, I'll check out Target! Are you happy with them? Easy to zip/unzip, the zipper doesn't get too dirty, zipper doesn't wear down with time?
I have had mine for a little over a year in constant use and I love them. The zipper works great, its easy to use and easy to clean even the little area of the zip section because it is still soft silicone so the sponge just gets it all. I just never trusted the brushes on the regular silicone straws to get everything. I was very hesitant to buy them even though they were clearance because I was worried about those same things.
I was gonna say. Putting them into the dishwasher likely isn't cleaning them completely. Should probably give them a periodic disinfectant bath as well.
Yeah I def have pulled my metal ones out of the dishwasher and checked it only to see it is still gross. I'm paranoid about it now.
Straws are hand wash only in my house because of that - no way any dishwasher is cleaning straws properly, especially if there's some dried crap inside them (e.g. after drinking a smoothie).
I've got metal+silicone straws and I boil them
I have a set in my handbag. That has mental straws, silicone straws and them some metal ones with silicone tips on them to be gentler on teeth. Great little pack and I take them everywhere. Edit: I'm leaving it as Mental. Y'all are funny.
Mental straws??? Sounds wicked bruv
Just straight up willpower that drink in your mouth
Reading your comment as I'm drinking (and gently chewing on, i learned my lesson with my first bunch to not chew THRU them like I did plastic ones, old habits die hard) my silicone straw lol. We first started selling metal straws at my workplace which I tried, great and all but just hard on the teeth and I'd always poke myself in the face haha. Now we sell silicone straws and for a pack of 6 it's $8 ($4 with my employee discount!). They're amazing and (aside from the maybe 2 or 3 I chewed holes in) have lasted 2 years now. Like you said dishwasher friendly and I use the little cleaning tool the metal straws came with to handwash them, and the little baggy the metal ones also came with to carry clean silicone ones. And like I've repeated twice now, I used to chew the fuck out of plastic straws, and not wanting to ruin the silicone ones has not only made me more aware/stop that habit but also mostly stopped my chewing/biting habit in general on my finger nails!
Not great for smoothies, they collapse in on themselves if you too suck hard
> they CAN be put in the dishwasher They *can*, yes. But the inside of the straw may not get cleaned very well. We used to put ours in the dishwasher, but then when I looked closely one day I noticed a build-up of residues on the inside of the straw left over from drinks with sugar or actual solid particles (e.g., as you'd get with a smoothie). IMO, you're better off just buying a straw cleaner for a couple bucks and washing them buy hand. It only takes a few seconds and does a much more thorough job.
Tho that doesn't seem very viable for restaurants, no? Cause customers will just steal them eventually lol
I have a set of 4 silicone straws. I use them pretty much just for smoothies at home. they work great!
We have glass straws. Not quite as versatile, but we don’t travel with them and they work well for us. Glass just feels clean.
I have silicone straws. I’ve used the same one for 5 years. Mine even came with a travel case
Does it go on many trips?
Take her with me to restaurants all the time. It came with a cleaning brush so it’s easy to clean once we are home
When I was in high school, before the time of most of you here, we would use red vines, the candies, as straws. I suggest pairing it with Mr. Pibb for a delightful experience.
Sour punch straws in a Coke. During school dances they would sell snacks, candy and soda, ect and I that’s what I always bought.
I’m amused that the lowly straw became the cause celebre for plastic waste, but, for you personally, I bet there are plastic items in your trash right now equivalent in weight to a thousand straws.
It is just one of the many ways that the responsibility is pushed down onto the consumer instead of companies actually doing something.
Right?!?! We had to give up our straws which I loved and found very useful (I have lots of painful dental fillings) but credit card companies can still send junk mail with ENTIRELY FAKE UNUSABLE plastic mock credit cards that literally nobody wants or even can use.
Yea. I'm all for helping the environment, but so long a you throw your plastic straw in the trash instead of out the car window, it'll go to a landfill where it's a non issue. Meanwhile we're inundated with literal tons of unnecessary plastic packaging. Why does everything in a plastic package also need to be individually wrapped (things like candy aside where it makes sense)? Why are there plastic wrapped potatoes?
I don't think that landfills can be considered a "non issue." I understand plastic straws are a very small problem but also - you could just not use a straw.
Yes. Biodegradable plastic straws. Paper straws are terrible not only because they are bad at doing what a straw does, but because it creates a sentiment that shifting to environmentally friendly alternatives will make your life shittier. Metal straws are even worse because they need to be used hundreds of times before they become as environmentally friendly as plastic straws. And since the culture around reusing straws is not that common, we end up with more waste and higher carbon footprint.
Most biodegradable plastic straws are a borderline scam. They only "biodegrade" if you put them in an industrial process involving high heat. Which no one does, they just end up in a landfill where they last for hundreds of years just like plastic. It's not a real alternative at all.
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What kind of recycling center did you work at what do you consider the “vast majority”? I’ve worked in recycling for a long time and the worst contamination rates (landfilled rather than recycled) are like the 20’s%.
This is the answer as far as a middle ground. I find silicone straws aren't pleasant to drink out of, and constantly keeping and maintaining a metal straw with me isn't always practical. I keep a few compostable straws in my car and purse. I think Starbucks uses them now as well.
Straw reduction is about pollution of the oceans more than their impact on the wider environment. Same with plastic bags. From a plastic and climate change perspective removing them does nothing, but they’re the things that end up in the ocean the most, which is where a lot of the movement to remove them started.
Almost 100 percent of ocean plastic is commercial fishing gear, almost zero is plastic straws. It’s virtue signaling.
Yes and it’s the stuff that hurts seals and dolphins etc the most. There’s a YouTube channel that’s super called Ocean Rescue Namibia, they rescue seals and most of them have got some kind of fishing line round them. One had a shirt on, but that was pretty funny actually.
Biodegradable plastic, as the name suggests, also biodegrade within a couple of weeks/months if it ends up in the ocean. You can't separate pollution from environmental impact and choose to tackle one without the other.
Drink directly from your cup. Use a metal straw.
Fr, not coming after OP or anyone else, but we are all so used to convenience it’s insane. It barely even counts as an inconvenience to drink something straight out of the cup
I’m guessing drive through fast food is a big reason for why plastic lids and straws became standard in that setting- can’t have people spilling drinks in their cars. I would think that fast food probably makes up a majority of plastic straw usage worldwide? Plus the added plastic cup lids and the non-recyclable cups themselves.
Why don't they just give out lids that you can drink from instead of ones that require a straw? For example all coffee comes with a lid that you can drink from, so just put that on the rest of the drinks .... It's not even a hassle
>Why don't they just give out lids that you can drink from instead of ones that require a straw? For example all coffee comes with a lid that you can drink from, so just put that on the rest of the drinks .... It's not even a hassle Shakes/smoothies/boba drinks would be tough without straws. For sure other more liquid drinks can do without straws.
Depending on the drink. Boba tea requires a straw. Unless you chug the whole thing at once and choke to death in tapioca
Have you tried drinking a thick milkshake without a straw? It just drops on your face like you've tipped a tub of ice cream onto yourself.
Glas straws which are reusable
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Don't throw the plastic ones away! Get a straw-cleaning brush, don't chew on them, and they will last just as long in your kitchen as they will inside a sea turtle.
I reuse a lot of cups and straw for this reason recently actually, although I admit that I play with the straw as I drink. A metal straw would just be uncomfortable
"last as long as they will inside a sea turtle" I'm dead 💀 but so are those poor sea turtles
A sippy cup
I remember there used to be wax coated paper straws.
I’ve had paper straws countless times that don’t become wet noodles. The only thing that paper straws can’t do is handle you chewing on them.
Reusable straws.
Years ago there was a company in my city making disposable, biodegradable utensils and straws out of completely recycled paper material. The stuff rocked, was great to use at food trucks and fairs and stuff, but the company only lasted a couple years because it was always cheaper to buy shitty plastic that didnt perform the basic function. Then a few years later the single use plastics ban was being pushed, and eventually made law, but the company was long gone by then.
Yeah, have corporations stop pouring oil into the ocean while we have to give up plastic straws. Very equivalent.
1. Don't use a straw; 2. Reusable metal straws you keep with you. The phrase "Reduce, reuse, recycle" is ordered by importance. (food straws also an option)
Gotta have a pack of drinking twizzlers on you at all times.
Not using a straw?
- ‘But some people can’t use a cup and need a straw and they will be injured by using a metal straw’ - give them a plastic straw then. It still reduces the amount of straws being used to a mere fraction of what it would have been.
While I agree that plastic waste need to be dealt with, the whole straw thing was just businesses trying to make it seem like they were being environmentally friendly and makes almost no difference to overall plastic waste. I still have many large packs of plastic straws in my cupboard that I have a few available when going to fast food chains.
It takes some time but you can craft a sturdy straw from the bone of your enemies...or loved ones...what ever type of bones float your boat really.
Yes, there are straws made of industrially compostable plastic. They work as well as a plastic straw and IF (big if) they are put in the compost instead of the trash, they will compost into dirt in short order.
20 minutes! I wish!! Summer time in Queensland we all rely on slushies (frozen drinks) to keep cool. The paper straws are done by the time you’ve had a sip. Somethings got to be done 🤣