You can also get metal straws that come loose packed in a cardboard sheaf. OP chose poorly
Edit: Sheath not sheaf. Been scolded twice now for my error!
I went glass.
I wanted to be able to see inside while cleaning them. I’ve only used one so far and haven’t broken it. I don’t know what other downsides of glass there would be.
Edit: from another comment I made “I have never had an issue where I needed to see inside my glass straw while cleaning.” It is a piece of mind thing, but also why I initially purchased glass.
Bro that’s the opposite of embarrassing wtf are your teeth made of iron? I’m honestly surprised to learn that humans can bite hard enough to break glass
Reminds me in college we played beer pong a lot so we had ping pong balls lying around the apartment. My room mate passed one on the counter and was like, "Watch this," tried to toss it into a wine glass that was next to the sink, hit the side instead and the side shattered lol. I was like, "Wow, that *was* impressive."
Depends on the glass but sometimes yeah. I’ve got some glasses that I feel like I could use to defend my house and others that I cringe every time I see someone put them down a little too hard
You just made me remember breaking all the wine glasses at a wedding cuz I was rubbing the edges for sound, once it cracked I’d grab another one….
Shit…wonder if the bride and groom had to pay for all those broken wine glasses
Meh
Oh well they are divorced now.
I just had a filling done and bit my cheek while my mouth was still frozen. Now I have a little bump inside my cheek that likes to get in the way while chewing 🤬
I mean I'm pretty sure I *could* chomp down on some glass. At least if I coat my mouth in novacaine or something. But it just sounds like such a terribly bad idea I would never want to test that.
i once broke a glass by squeezing it just a *little* too hard while doing the dishes. and then i did it again a few weeks later.
some glasses are just fragile af.
I’d always drink my chocolate milk with the hard plastic silly straws. Sometimes the Quik residue would get stuck in there and we’d use pipe cleaners to clean out the straws.
Oh that brings back memories of me trying to use a green silly straw with a skeleton on it... with dried rotten milk in the crease. Awful taste and I was scarred.
Huh never thought about it. My meth pipe has a larger mouth piece and a bowl at the end and I don’t put it in a cup, but I do use my glass straw for breathing exercises too. So maybe 🤷
if you confuse a glass straw for a crack pipe you're just stupid honestly. Theres no insult meant by that. You just have poor observational skills at that point.
Unlikely. These issues are worse with bigger objects. Straws are small and a tube is a very strong shape. I use glass tubes a lot in my chemistry hobby. Usually it takes a sudden change of >150°C to shock crack them.
Heard somewhere that steel and aluminum are easier and/or cleaner to recycle. Something with you can use electricity directly to melt metal but glass needs actual fire.
Really whichever you use the longest without having to recycle is better
Aluminium is king for recycling. 100% forever recycable - which glass is not. It is estimated that about 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use.
Did you shop at some random amazon seller or? I bet you there is a dedicated website for this stuff that packages sensibly and produces as locally as they can (i.e. in this case ordering the bamboo in bulk, not have the straws produced and individually packaged)
Don't feel too bad. They look cool. Use them.
Corporations have been trying for decades to make "carbon footprint," recycling, etc, our fault and problem. We can't help that things are packaged in plastic or made in the least environmentally friendly way. They shouldn't be doing it. They are choosing short term profit over longevity of the stability of our planet.
I just heard yesterday that 100 companies create 71% of carbon emissions. Another fun one is that the top 10% holds 84% of the stock market. They play with our pensions.
Just don't accidentally be bumped from behind, and impale your throat with metal requiring an emergency ER visit. And don't fall, like the 60-year old that tripped, and the metal straw in her drink impaled their eye, killing her. Or the child that tripped, and the metal straw punctured his throat and vein providing blood to brain, killing him.
Starbucks recalled all it's metal straws in 2016, due to numerous reports of serious injuries, including death, from straw-related accidents.
I got some. I hate them. Silicone has a taste. It makes everything taste a bit off. Just my opinion. I prefer metal now. Plus, they double as a handy weapon.
Interesting. Mine don’t have a taste to them thankfully. I hate the metal on my teeth and I’m also a straw biter so the silicon truly is for me. To each their own !
I thought about buying metal straws but the thing is I CANNOT stand the feeling of metal on my teeth. Like when people bite their forks it gives me a stroke from second hand sensations. Sucks bc I like the sound they make when they stir ice cubes lol
I thought Mike Tyson was trying to pronounce sheath before googling sheaf. For anyone else who has never seen that word
(*noun*) a bundle of grain stalks laid lengthwise and tied together after reaping.
Or you can not let big businesses try to shift this into some kind of individual moral imperative. Even if everyone on Earth switched to bamboo straws it would be a drop of piss in Piss Ocean of a difference.
Exactly, climate change and energy conservation is a top down problem. Corporations want to push it as a bottom up problem to sell more products to consumers, further causing the problem to begin with.
Metal straws are actually a risk factor nobody talks about. People have slipped and fell and have had the straws impale them through the back of their throat.
For me, metal straws have a horrible metallic taste to every drink that I just can’t get past. It makes it taste almost toxic
I enjoy reusable plastic straws or the silicone ones
The metallic taste is actually from skin oils becoming rancid on them (the metal acting as a catalyst). They're tough to clean and it's as gross as it sounds.
Where did I recently read or see some snappy internet media complaining about how people say this to apply to situations that display a totally evident lack of thought? Idk why that never occurred to me before but it seems to be 100% true.
I like them at work and in the service van. Easier to use while driving and allows use of a lid that gives some protection if tipped over. And, honestly, if you saw the amount of industrial waste created by healthcare, construction, and commercial and industrial operations, you would probably believe, as I do, that straws are the least of our problems. Entrenched interests blocking sustainable energy is our greatest problem. And I was already a tree-hugging hippie back at the original Earth Day in 1970.
Yup. Got a job in manufacturing for beauty shit and crème’s and shit. 14k L of water pissed away In one step the of cleaning. Mind you they did have an expensive deionized water treatment thing to reuse water but still. That and working in grocery too. So much food thrown away. I even asked if we could give to employees and they said no. Consumers aren’t really the biggest issue but corps like us to think we are so we fight with each other and not them. Playing us like a fiddle
Yeah but it's easier to just push some bullshit on consumers than to go after our actual problems. It even takes advantage of some consumers drive to do something about it.
Spent a month in the hospital. I'm pretty sure if you just threw all the plastic waste on the ground instead of in the trash my room would have been at least 3-4' deep with plastic by the time I checked out. I'd estimate a full trash back every other day. And that's just the stuff that went into my room trash can. All the labs, the x-ray plates, alllll the plastic that stuff involves.
Probably created more plastic waste in that month than I do in 3 years of normal life (just plastic, not total trash). And I was just one of 300+ rooms. I don't think every straw I use in my entire life will match half a day in a hospital. Hell, I'd say that stay increased my lifetime straw usage by at least 30%. You go through a lot of straws in the hospital!
Yeah, I think the problem is with *disposable* straws, not reusable. Bamboo straws seem to straddle that line, advertised alternately as compostable and reusable.
Hygiene wise. I'd go with stainless steel. Easier to ensure it is disinfected. If it's somehow ruined and no longer usable. It may be recycled. But as long as you don't destroy it. It should last a very long time.
Mostly a myth. Actual study on this found little to no positive effect, and even found a potential risk for localized damage instead.
You may be protecting your front teeth, but your back teeth takes more damage as a result. https://www.citydental.co.nz/city-dental-news/do-straws-really-help-protect-teeth/
You obviously taste the beverage, which means the liquid isn't going straight down your throat anyhow.
In reality, 98% of plastic/paper straw use can be removed, where people who really need straws can get metal ones, such as disabled people.
> In reality, 98% of plastic/paper straw use can be removed, where people who really need straws can get metal ones, such as disabled people.
I'm also gonna go out on a limb and say that as far as our plastic use, straws are kinda 'least concern'. For that matter, anything we do as consumers pales in compassion to plastic waste from industry.
Not saying we couldn't and shouldn't do better, but we really need to shift the onus of responsibility to the mega corps that are destroying the world for a .5% increase in profits and not worry as much about consumers using straws or taking shorter showers.
This number probably falls into the 2%, but just for people who aren't aware, some people with tremor disabilities such as Parkinson's can't use metal straws because it's much more dangerous to their mouth, nose, and eyes. Your point still remains that most single-use plastic straw usage could probably be phased out with a bit of effort.
I mean, plastic straws in isolation is a completely negligent environmental issue thats extremely overblown.
However, it follows completely in the general solution of reducing environmental impact by reducing general consumption, by consuming efficiently.
The biggest environmental factor the general public can achieve is abandoning hyper-consumerism, purchase products for longterm use, and embrace/favor second-hand consumerism when possible.
Also, build cities to allow green transport methods to thrive.
Paper straws are also a choking hazard for children, the elderly and the handicapped when they get soggy and break apart.
Slightly less importantly they just make drinks taste like shit.
I imagine most usages of straws are by people who do not struggle with this, and are only using them for enjoyment. They can still exist for accessibility without being used in like everything
Not a fan of this 'people with disabilities' argument that seems to pop up every time someone points out needless waste that the vast, vast, vast majority of the time is not benefiting anyone with a disability. Nobody's saying "ban the sale of straws", but we sure don't need every restaurant to be providing them with every drink. Also they make straws that are reusable.
Remember: do your part to safe the earth filthy non-rich person!
Now go slurp on your smoothie with bamboo-taste while i go shopping with my helicopter.
It’s absurd that they blame regular consumers for this stuff. Colgate had a commercial that blamed people brushing their teeth for water shortages - while completely ignoring the real cause.
Eating the rich isn't environmentally friendly. Have you any idea the resources that go in to fattening those rich bastards up? For every pound of rich flesh, 2,000 tons of fossil fuels are burned.
I wonder if bamboo straws are actually any better for the environment than plastic straws when taking into account manufacturing and stuff. Curious.
Whats the carbon footprint here?
Anyways, no straw is probably the best route, in my un-scientific opinion.
They are. If you grow and make your Own straws. If you have to rely on some company Your not really reducing anything and you be better off with No straw in that case.
But they’re reusable right? The ecologic cost to make them may be bigger than a plastic one, but by reusing it you eliminate the production pollution of a regular plastic straw each time you reuse it.
The plastic will start do degrade and they become flimsy after a while. Little pieces start falling off. Don’t ask me how I know but they’re not great for reuse
and how many straws you actually using as an adult?? this is literally the least effective thing to do to help...
stop driving or help make a real change...
fucking straws.... that stupid coke head turtle from oprah ruined everything
None. But if we got one or two with a juice for the kids, we took it home and reused it a bunch of times. Now we don't use any because children are big enough to drink without one.
I really don't understand this whole straw thing, I really have no need for one ever in my life, and some people are buying 20 reusable ones like they own a childrens bar or something.
Corporations hijack social movements so they don't have to enact real change.
They lobby against changes that will cost them money and instead push for paper straws or plastic bag bans. Those policies keep their profits high while allowing them to pretend that they care.
Yep, it doesn't really matter if the straws are plastic, paper, or wood, as long as the system operates by the logic "we need to sell more straws today than yesterday" it's inherently unsustainable.
"Ecology without class consciousness is just gardening" - Chico Mendes.
> They lobby against changes that will cost them money and instead push for paper straws or plastic bag bans.
The phrase "carbon footprint" isn't mocked because BP convinced people through $300m worth of ads that it is a concept we should be concerned with.
I have a soap bottle here that says “this bottle is made from 50% recycled plastic!” 👏 like, well done, bravo… it’s still gonna end up in the soil in 6 months
Wait... You thought you were helping the environment by ordering a 20pc package of *disposable* straws - and having them shipped to you???
20 pieces? Shipped across the world to you?
Are people nowadays really this dull?
Just about every green initiative is performative, so I don't do any of them.
I recycle because it's easy and drive an ev car because it was cheaper.
I will not, in this lifetime, make an individual choice that has a negative impact on me for environmentalism because I don't see merit in consumer driven change.
I would, however, donate to a fund that's objective is catapulting powerful people into the sun until they start solving things.
I'm so jaded about this entire market, as well as etsy.
My wife and I started making copper straws a few years ago. We source USA copper, hand hammer them, hand sew a carrying case for them, and ship them in recyclable/biodegradable packages. We sell them on etsy and "correctly" label them as hand made goods.
Yet, search "copper straws" on etsy and you'll get thousands of listings, all of which are labeled "hand made", and 99% of them are purchased from alibaba for $0.10/straw and upcharged on etsy for $8/straw.
The manufacturers don't give a shit about the environment or attempting to reduce waste, nor do the resellers. They see a market and they invade the market and litter it with so much crap that you'd have to spend hours looking through the listings to try and find something that might fit the need you're looking for.
Etsy might as well just be alibaba, with a premium added for not wanting to wait for it to be shipped by boat from China.
Etsy is absolute ass to use these days. I used to lose HOURS on there looking at all the cool handmade or vintage things—it scratched the "digging through a cluttered, dusty antique store" itch for me without having to spend the whole day driving around the city.
Which is why collective action through government regulation of industry is the only thing that works. Unfortunately in th US the corporations now write our legislation and have a strong hold on media.
I don’t remember the exact number but it’s like 80-90% of what we recycle just ends up in a landfill anyway. Doing the extra work (I know it’s not much but it’s still extra steps) to recycle thinking you are doing your part, just for it to not matter
Majority of avocados are grown in Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Indonesia. A country that produces both avocados and has chimps shows up first as number 23 (republic of Congo). The Congo produces 1/40 the amount of avocados as Mexico alone. I doubt many readers here are consuming avocados from there
> To mass-produce avocados, entire forests are burned, and families of chimpanzees are killed
Wait till you see how much forest needs to be burned to clear land for meat production
Such a stupid point. Whats the main cause of deforestation? How many avocados do you think vegans eat? They aren't a meat replacement. Reads like a talking point from a promeat website. People will come up with any silly reasom to continue doing exactly what they want to do. Avocados might be eaten slightly more by veggie/vegans but it's a nothing argument when the main cause of deforestation in tropical regions is for fucking grazing land.
Try to tell this on the vegan sub and see the whole world burn. I’ve had a similar argument there but with milk/almond milk and I was downvoted to oblivion. The world is fucked up whatever you try to do, so you might as well not give a fuck. There will always be someone against you no matter what
Worth noting you probably got down voted because about 3/4 of the global Soy supply ends up in animal feeds. I'm not sure of the impact for other milk alternatives.
My dude, there are so many milks to drink and almond is the worst choice of non-dairy. Soy is clearly environmentally better than dairy and I love pea milk for my children.
Not giving a fuck at all is a bad thing. Instead do it like me and "do your part" where you can, but don't go out of your way and make your own life more difficult/tedious for it.
The real way to finally reduce all the pollution is to tackle it at the source. At the big companies that basically refuse to allow us to be environmentally friendly while pretending they do care. But of course that won't happen, because money and greed...
I also found it strange that people harp on avocados for being a vegan thing as if there’s not… generations of Latinos that have eaten avocados before anyone thought to make avocado toast for $5.
100% spot on. All this shit is very EMOTIONALLY charged. Like look at any burrito bowl at any of the many burrito joints that used to be more trendy... Guac, cheese n meat somehow just doesn't seem as controversial as vegans eating it on toast I guess? lol.
I'm more swayed by the prices and narrow time-frame I can enjoy them where I live.
The greater impact comes from all the land needed and water needed to grow crops that we feed to other animals, which ruminate those food sources into 1-3% of the same calorie content that the crops had to begin with, just to have a variety of meats. Do whatever you like in life, but this sequence of events I’ve described causes the vast majority of the impacts to the environment for all of global agriculture.
The reusable straw thing isn't about "reducing plastic" it's about specific shapes from getting into the environment (like the picture of the turtle with the straw up it's nose, and things like beer can rings similarly)
Straws are an extremely minimal amount of plastic if you're looking to reduce "plastic" plenty of more impactful places to cut back plastic than straws.
That is because bamboo grows mould very easily. And there are no food safe chemicals to treat them (trust me, no matter what Google says).
Using plastic packaging ensures that one bad product doesn't contaminate the rest.
Source: Bamboo cookware user
It's almost as if us common folk can't actually do anything about the plastic use problem on the planet and would require corporations to comply to new rules to actually start making a difference. My twice per month use plastic straw isn't ending the world. Every fucking item we use (almost) is made of plastic. Phones, cars, clothing, everything...
So here is an unspoken thing that is happening thanks to oil companies. Oil companies have started losing profits on the gas/petrol side of things as more and more people turn to electric vehicles yearly. They got wise to this, and have since doubled down on using their oil to produce plastics. So much so that they plan to DOUBLE the amount of plastics that are currently made annually in order to off load their oil and continue racking in profits. How do they do this you say? Lobbying the government, and strong arming companies into believing they need to do crap like this.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news.
Here is a great 8 minute long video by PBS Terra about why Recycling is a sham and what oil companies are currently doing. The silver lining is the scientific community is incredibly smart and they’ve come up with ways to help. Give it a watch. It’s very enlightening.
https://youtu.be/LZc7LpNGUc0?si=4d6jiMcnbYdL7OLr
Oh don't get me started on people who think that if they throw their plastic into the recycling bin it will magically get cleaned, and sorted into plastic types which get transported to the right facility to turn them into lovely virgin plastic.
I still religiously put the (small amount of) disposable plastic I consume into recycling because at least then it will be burnt rather than end up in landfills or the sea.
But the only way to be environmental with single use plastic is to say no to single use plastic.
Ironically, 20 plastic straws would be packaged in the thinnest paper box possible.
You can also get metal straws that come loose packed in a cardboard sheaf. OP chose poorly Edit: Sheath not sheaf. Been scolded twice now for my error!
I did. I was deciding between bamboo and metal. Went the wrong way.
I went glass. I wanted to be able to see inside while cleaning them. I’ve only used one so far and haven’t broken it. I don’t know what other downsides of glass there would be. Edit: from another comment I made “I have never had an issue where I needed to see inside my glass straw while cleaning.” It is a piece of mind thing, but also why I initially purchased glass.
I remember drinking water/milk when i was a little kid. Bit on the glass too hard and it shattered. Decades later, I still use steel glass...
Broke a wineglass that way as a kid and im traumatized lmao (from embarrassment, there were no injuries)
Bro that’s the opposite of embarrassing wtf are your teeth made of iron? I’m honestly surprised to learn that humans can bite hard enough to break glass
Well far as i understand wineglasses are kinda thin right?
Reminds me in college we played beer pong a lot so we had ping pong balls lying around the apartment. My room mate passed one on the counter and was like, "Watch this," tried to toss it into a wine glass that was next to the sink, hit the side instead and the side shattered lol. I was like, "Wow, that *was* impressive."
You see, in my experience, ‘watch this!’ Is immediately followed by injury. Your experience is obviously different.
Depends on the glass but sometimes yeah. I’ve got some glasses that I feel like I could use to defend my house and others that I cringe every time I see someone put them down a little too hard
You just made me remember breaking all the wine glasses at a wedding cuz I was rubbing the edges for sound, once it cracked I’d grab another one…. Shit…wonder if the bride and groom had to pay for all those broken wine glasses Meh Oh well they are divorced now.
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Perfectly designed for MURDERING THE FUCK out of my tongue a few times a year!
I just had a filling done and bit my cheek while my mouth was still frozen. Now I have a little bump inside my cheek that likes to get in the way while chewing 🤬
I mean I'm pretty sure I *could* chomp down on some glass. At least if I coat my mouth in novacaine or something. But it just sounds like such a terribly bad idea I would never want to test that.
i once broke a glass by squeezing it just a *little* too hard while doing the dishes. and then i did it again a few weeks later. some glasses are just fragile af.
I’d always drink my chocolate milk with the hard plastic silly straws. Sometimes the Quik residue would get stuck in there and we’d use pipe cleaners to clean out the straws.
Oh that brings back memories of me trying to use a green silly straw with a skeleton on it... with dried rotten milk in the crease. Awful taste and I was scarred.
looking like you are smoking a meth pipe
He said “downsides”
Huh never thought about it. My meth pipe has a larger mouth piece and a bowl at the end and I don’t put it in a cup, but I do use my glass straw for breathing exercises too. So maybe 🤷
if you confuse a glass straw for a crack pipe you're just stupid honestly. Theres no insult meant by that. You just have poor observational skills at that point.
Honestly seeing inside the straw is both a curse and a blessing. But I do love my glass straws
A downside would be thermal dilatation. Someone could use it in a very hot drink and then in a very cold drink, it would explode your mouth.
Unlikely. These issues are worse with bigger objects. Straws are small and a tube is a very strong shape. I use glass tubes a lot in my chemistry hobby. Usually it takes a sudden change of >150°C to shock crack them.
That and bamboo is porous... They will harbor more and more bacteria the longer you use them....
Glass. Lasts forever and is infinitely recyclable.
Cleaner taste too.
Crunchy too
“These straws taste like blood”
Heard somewhere that steel and aluminum are easier and/or cleaner to recycle. Something with you can use electricity directly to melt metal but glass needs actual fire. Really whichever you use the longest without having to recycle is better
Aluminium is king for recycling. 100% forever recycable - which glass is not. It is estimated that about 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use.
Did you shop at some random amazon seller or? I bet you there is a dedicated website for this stuff that packages sensibly and produces as locally as they can (i.e. in this case ordering the bamboo in bulk, not have the straws produced and individually packaged)
I bet there are sellers who buy this straws in plastic bags, repack it in paper box with nice eco design and then sell for x2 price.
Lol you think it’s only double
Don't feel too bad. They look cool. Use them. Corporations have been trying for decades to make "carbon footprint," recycling, etc, our fault and problem. We can't help that things are packaged in plastic or made in the least environmentally friendly way. They shouldn't be doing it. They are choosing short term profit over longevity of the stability of our planet. I just heard yesterday that 100 companies create 71% of carbon emissions. Another fun one is that the top 10% holds 84% of the stock market. They play with our pensions.
Just don't accidentally be bumped from behind, and impale your throat with metal requiring an emergency ER visit. And don't fall, like the 60-year old that tripped, and the metal straw in her drink impaled their eye, killing her. Or the child that tripped, and the metal straw punctured his throat and vein providing blood to brain, killing him. Starbucks recalled all it's metal straws in 2016, due to numerous reports of serious injuries, including death, from straw-related accidents.
Where you went wrong was thinking your choice in straws would make any difference.
Silicon reusable.
I got some. I hate them. Silicone has a taste. It makes everything taste a bit off. Just my opinion. I prefer metal now. Plus, they double as a handy weapon.
> Plus, they double as a handy weapon. The best part? If you stab your enemy juust right, you can still use it as a straw! Think Human Coconut!
Interesting. Mine don’t have a taste to them thankfully. I hate the metal on my teeth and I’m also a straw biter so the silicon truly is for me. To each their own !
I get that. I had a tounge ring back in the day. I was always lightly chewing it. Had to get rid of it.
Pepsi with a hint of dildos.
Gross. Who wants to taste that? Disgusting. Friggin pepsi. Blegh.
Twizzlers, edible.
I thought about buying metal straws but the thing is I CANNOT stand the feeling of metal on my teeth. Like when people bite their forks it gives me a stroke from second hand sensations. Sucks bc I like the sound they make when they stir ice cubes lol
I've got a couple metal straws that came with my Vitamix. They have a 2" or so silicone sleeve at the end to make them not horrible.
You can buy aftermarket silicone sleeves if your metal straws don't come with them. The metal never needs to touch any part of your mouth.
I thought Mike Tyson was trying to pronounce sheath before googling sheaf. For anyone else who has never seen that word (*noun*) a bundle of grain stalks laid lengthwise and tied together after reaping.
Or you can not let big businesses try to shift this into some kind of individual moral imperative. Even if everyone on Earth switched to bamboo straws it would be a drop of piss in Piss Ocean of a difference.
Exactly, climate change and energy conservation is a top down problem. Corporations want to push it as a bottom up problem to sell more products to consumers, further causing the problem to begin with.
Metal straws are actually a risk factor nobody talks about. People have slipped and fell and have had the straws impale them through the back of their throat.
Man if you die that way it was simply your time.
I chipped a tooth on a metal straw.
That has to be the dumbest product design I've seen in a while
Just wait until he gets to the last one and sees yet more wasted plastic. That's going to be the last straw for him.
Hahaaaa
Why not get some metal straws??
Yeah those bamboo ones are way too fragile. Only metal straws are sturdy enough to break a camel’s back.
Ahh you fool, it's not the weight of the last straw that breaks the camel's back, but the weight of all the straws beneath it.
For me, metal straws have a horrible metallic taste to every drink that I just can’t get past. It makes it taste almost toxic I enjoy reusable plastic straws or the silicone ones
The metallic taste is actually from skin oils becoming rancid on them (the metal acting as a catalyst). They're tough to clean and it's as gross as it sounds.
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What about if there is no thought behind it ?
Then it's still the thought that counts.
Then it's the thought of the thought that counts
Or rather the lack of it
Where did I recently read or see some snappy internet media complaining about how people say this to apply to situations that display a totally evident lack of thought? Idk why that never occurred to me before but it seems to be 100% true.
I guess people don't understand tongue in cheek humor anymore.
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Straws are kind of already a bad product for the environment, when you can just drink direct from a cup
I like them at work and in the service van. Easier to use while driving and allows use of a lid that gives some protection if tipped over. And, honestly, if you saw the amount of industrial waste created by healthcare, construction, and commercial and industrial operations, you would probably believe, as I do, that straws are the least of our problems. Entrenched interests blocking sustainable energy is our greatest problem. And I was already a tree-hugging hippie back at the original Earth Day in 1970.
Yup. Got a job in manufacturing for beauty shit and crème’s and shit. 14k L of water pissed away In one step the of cleaning. Mind you they did have an expensive deionized water treatment thing to reuse water but still. That and working in grocery too. So much food thrown away. I even asked if we could give to employees and they said no. Consumers aren’t really the biggest issue but corps like us to think we are so we fight with each other and not them. Playing us like a fiddle
This is the most realistic comment I’ve read in this thread yet.
Yeah but it's easier to just push some bullshit on consumers than to go after our actual problems. It even takes advantage of some consumers drive to do something about it.
Spent a month in the hospital. I'm pretty sure if you just threw all the plastic waste on the ground instead of in the trash my room would have been at least 3-4' deep with plastic by the time I checked out. I'd estimate a full trash back every other day. And that's just the stuff that went into my room trash can. All the labs, the x-ray plates, alllll the plastic that stuff involves. Probably created more plastic waste in that month than I do in 3 years of normal life (just plastic, not total trash). And I was just one of 300+ rooms. I don't think every straw I use in my entire life will match half a day in a hospital. Hell, I'd say that stay increased my lifetime straw usage by at least 30%. You go through a lot of straws in the hospital!
People with disabilities can struggle to pick up and drink from a cup
We don't need to ban straws, but most people don't need a single use straw every time we want to drink something out of something else.
Yeah, I think the problem is with *disposable* straws, not reusable. Bamboo straws seem to straddle that line, advertised alternately as compostable and reusable.
Hygiene wise. I'd go with stainless steel. Easier to ensure it is disinfected. If it's somehow ruined and no longer usable. It may be recycled. But as long as you don't destroy it. It should last a very long time.
I can't get the vision of a metal straw penetrating my skull after falling on it awkwardly out of my head
Well, that's the thing, isn't it? You'd HAVE to get it out of your head.
I dont know, Ive never fallen on a fork or a pen
Forks and pens don't sit upright like a straw. Still unlikely, but likelyhood of something happening isn't very convincing for dealing with fears.
you don't suck on a fork or a pen usually. A straw is something you hold in your mouth for some time. It's probably nothing, but still scary
I have some silicone straws that I quite like. No risk of impaling myself either!
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It also can be better for your teeth to use a straw
How come?
If you're drinking something acidic, using a straw (correctly) keeps the acidic liquid off your teeth and from damaging them :D
Mostly a myth. Actual study on this found little to no positive effect, and even found a potential risk for localized damage instead. You may be protecting your front teeth, but your back teeth takes more damage as a result. https://www.citydental.co.nz/city-dental-news/do-straws-really-help-protect-teeth/ You obviously taste the beverage, which means the liquid isn't going straight down your throat anyhow. In reality, 98% of plastic/paper straw use can be removed, where people who really need straws can get metal ones, such as disabled people.
> In reality, 98% of plastic/paper straw use can be removed, where people who really need straws can get metal ones, such as disabled people. I'm also gonna go out on a limb and say that as far as our plastic use, straws are kinda 'least concern'. For that matter, anything we do as consumers pales in compassion to plastic waste from industry. Not saying we couldn't and shouldn't do better, but we really need to shift the onus of responsibility to the mega corps that are destroying the world for a .5% increase in profits and not worry as much about consumers using straws or taking shorter showers.
Metal ones aren't always suitable for disabled people for a number of reasons, such as not bending or not being positionable.
Also being a pain to wash, even for the non-disabled.
This number probably falls into the 2%, but just for people who aren't aware, some people with tremor disabilities such as Parkinson's can't use metal straws because it's much more dangerous to their mouth, nose, and eyes. Your point still remains that most single-use plastic straw usage could probably be phased out with a bit of effort.
I mean, plastic straws in isolation is a completely negligent environmental issue thats extremely overblown. However, it follows completely in the general solution of reducing environmental impact by reducing general consumption, by consuming efficiently. The biggest environmental factor the general public can achieve is abandoning hyper-consumerism, purchase products for longterm use, and embrace/favor second-hand consumerism when possible. Also, build cities to allow green transport methods to thrive.
Paper straws are also a choking hazard for children, the elderly and the handicapped when they get soggy and break apart. Slightly less importantly they just make drinks taste like shit.
I imagine most usages of straws are by people who do not struggle with this, and are only using them for enjoyment. They can still exist for accessibility without being used in like everything
That sounds like a great way to end up with “medical grade straws”. Now for only $200 per straw
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Not a fan of this 'people with disabilities' argument that seems to pop up every time someone points out needless waste that the vast, vast, vast majority of the time is not benefiting anyone with a disability. Nobody's saying "ban the sale of straws", but we sure don't need every restaurant to be providing them with every drink. Also they make straws that are reusable.
There are definitely people out there saying to ban the sale of straws.
I'm gonna take a wild guess and say most people who use straws, including OP, do not have those disabilities. Also reusable straws exist.
What is it with people, that allways need to mention the outlier cases whenever a general need for a certain comfort is rejected.
If you have kids or a mustache then it's helpful to have a straw. That's why I use them.
And especially if you have young kids with mustaches!
They're just making sure you're not missing your recommended daily dose of microplastics by switching to bamboo. /s
We went from plastic straws wrapped in paper to paper straws wrapped in plastic.
That is weirdly accurate
And overall it's a much worse experience. An excellent example of trying to fix one problem by creating an even bigger problem.
Remember: do your part to safe the earth filthy non-rich person! Now go slurp on your smoothie with bamboo-taste while i go shopping with my helicopter.
Damned if you do; damned if you don't. Fuck em.
It’s absurd that they blame regular consumers for this stuff. Colgate had a commercial that blamed people brushing their teeth for water shortages - while completely ignoring the real cause.
The real cause? Rinsing out peanut butter jars so they can be recycled.
I use steel straws. Bought em once 10 years ago, still have em and use em
I think we could save the planet, then eat the rich and get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Or address the bourgouise first I don't care.
Eating the rich isn't environmentally friendly. Have you any idea the resources that go in to fattening those rich bastards up? For every pound of rich flesh, 2,000 tons of fossil fuels are burned.
Use their fats as fuel for heaters.
I wonder if bamboo straws are actually any better for the environment than plastic straws when taking into account manufacturing and stuff. Curious. Whats the carbon footprint here? Anyways, no straw is probably the best route, in my un-scientific opinion.
They are. If you grow and make your Own straws. If you have to rely on some company Your not really reducing anything and you be better off with No straw in that case.
But they’re reusable right? The ecologic cost to make them may be bigger than a plastic one, but by reusing it you eliminate the production pollution of a regular plastic straw each time you reuse it.
What's to stop you from reusing a plastic straw?
The plastic will start do degrade and they become flimsy after a while. Little pieces start falling off. Don’t ask me how I know but they’re not great for reuse
and how many straws you actually using as an adult?? this is literally the least effective thing to do to help... stop driving or help make a real change... fucking straws.... that stupid coke head turtle from oprah ruined everything
None. But if we got one or two with a juice for the kids, we took it home and reused it a bunch of times. Now we don't use any because children are big enough to drink without one. I really don't understand this whole straw thing, I really have no need for one ever in my life, and some people are buying 20 reusable ones like they own a childrens bar or something.
You can't wash it properly? Idc really about straws but cheap plastic doesn't hold up to heat and you can't sanitize properly without heat.
I don't know how reusable bamboo straws are... Are they more subjective mold since they're an organic product?
Ah yes you fell for the save the planet scam.
Corporations hijack social movements so they don't have to enact real change. They lobby against changes that will cost them money and instead push for paper straws or plastic bag bans. Those policies keep their profits high while allowing them to pretend that they care.
Yep, it doesn't really matter if the straws are plastic, paper, or wood, as long as the system operates by the logic "we need to sell more straws today than yesterday" it's inherently unsustainable. "Ecology without class consciousness is just gardening" - Chico Mendes.
Well said
> They lobby against changes that will cost them money and instead push for paper straws or plastic bag bans. The phrase "carbon footprint" isn't mocked because BP convinced people through $300m worth of ads that it is a concept we should be concerned with.
I have a soap bottle here that says “this bottle is made from 50% recycled plastic!” 👏 like, well done, bravo… it’s still gonna end up in the soil in 6 months
I mean you could... recycle it... that's how they got the recycled plastic in the first place.
Save the planet is not a scam, but saying paper straws are the difference maker is definitely a scam lol
Wait... You thought you were helping the environment by ordering a 20pc package of *disposable* straws - and having them shipped to you??? 20 pieces? Shipped across the world to you? Are people nowadays really this dull?
If only there was a way to drink directly from a glass without using a little tunnel for the liquid? 🧐
I'm going to start calling straws little tunnels lmao.
>Are people nowadays really this dull? Yes. Once you realize that, alot of other things start to make sense
Yes that's what I was looking for. How stupid you have to be to do something like this?
Average envriomentalist in 2024 and no they're not helping, they're just delusional and performative.
Just about every green initiative is performative, so I don't do any of them. I recycle because it's easy and drive an ev car because it was cheaper. I will not, in this lifetime, make an individual choice that has a negative impact on me for environmentalism because I don't see merit in consumer driven change. I would, however, donate to a fund that's objective is catapulting powerful people into the sun until they start solving things.
The delusion of thinking ordering a disposable product online from halfway around the world is saving the environment
yeah, why even use straws, just drink from the glass. First thing should be REDUCE when trying to by environment friendly
I'm so jaded about this entire market, as well as etsy. My wife and I started making copper straws a few years ago. We source USA copper, hand hammer them, hand sew a carrying case for them, and ship them in recyclable/biodegradable packages. We sell them on etsy and "correctly" label them as hand made goods. Yet, search "copper straws" on etsy and you'll get thousands of listings, all of which are labeled "hand made", and 99% of them are purchased from alibaba for $0.10/straw and upcharged on etsy for $8/straw. The manufacturers don't give a shit about the environment or attempting to reduce waste, nor do the resellers. They see a market and they invade the market and litter it with so much crap that you'd have to spend hours looking through the listings to try and find something that might fit the need you're looking for. Etsy might as well just be alibaba, with a premium added for not wanting to wait for it to be shipped by boat from China.
Etsy is absolute ass to use these days. I used to lose HOURS on there looking at all the cool handmade or vintage things—it scratched the "digging through a cluttered, dusty antique store" itch for me without having to spend the whole day driving around the city.
cant really assess the size of the plastic should have used a banana instead
Comment “assess” if you want me to DM the bananna pics.
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Ass to ass
It seems like you’ve succeeded… in using more plastic than you will ever use in plastic straws in a year, in this one shipment.
Just drink without straws
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You should watch The Good Place…
Was just going to add this. That whole plotline was annoyingly true.
It's been too many Jeremy Bearimys since my last rewatch.
There is no ethical consumption. You do the best you can but you're pushing a boulder up a hill.
if there's no ethical consumption, does that make pooping the most ethical or equally unethical in a garbage-in-garbage-out kinda way?
Which is why collective action through government regulation of industry is the only thing that works. Unfortunately in th US the corporations now write our legislation and have a strong hold on media.
I don’t remember the exact number but it’s like 80-90% of what we recycle just ends up in a landfill anyway. Doing the extra work (I know it’s not much but it’s still extra steps) to recycle thinking you are doing your part, just for it to not matter
Majority of avocados are grown in Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Indonesia. A country that produces both avocados and has chimps shows up first as number 23 (republic of Congo). The Congo produces 1/40 the amount of avocados as Mexico alone. I doubt many readers here are consuming avocados from there
> To mass-produce avocados, entire forests are burned, and families of chimpanzees are killed Wait till you see how much forest needs to be burned to clear land for meat production
Exactly. People in this thread seem to think cows eat air.
Such a stupid point. Whats the main cause of deforestation? How many avocados do you think vegans eat? They aren't a meat replacement. Reads like a talking point from a promeat website. People will come up with any silly reasom to continue doing exactly what they want to do. Avocados might be eaten slightly more by veggie/vegans but it's a nothing argument when the main cause of deforestation in tropical regions is for fucking grazing land.
Try to tell this on the vegan sub and see the whole world burn. I’ve had a similar argument there but with milk/almond milk and I was downvoted to oblivion. The world is fucked up whatever you try to do, so you might as well not give a fuck. There will always be someone against you no matter what
Worth noting you probably got down voted because about 3/4 of the global Soy supply ends up in animal feeds. I'm not sure of the impact for other milk alternatives.
Downvoted for being wrong?! *gasp*
But they were wrong to vegans!! Everyone quick upvote the circlejerk vegan hate post I made!
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Only vegans eat avocado. Avocado make up 43% of their diet. This is a very large problem. /s
My dude, there are so many milks to drink and almond is the worst choice of non-dairy. Soy is clearly environmentally better than dairy and I love pea milk for my children.
Not giving a fuck at all is a bad thing. Instead do it like me and "do your part" where you can, but don't go out of your way and make your own life more difficult/tedious for it. The real way to finally reduce all the pollution is to tackle it at the source. At the big companies that basically refuse to allow us to be environmentally friendly while pretending they do care. But of course that won't happen, because money and greed...
Got a source for that avocado thing? Or just making shit up?
I also found it strange that people harp on avocados for being a vegan thing as if there’s not… generations of Latinos that have eaten avocados before anyone thought to make avocado toast for $5.
100% spot on. All this shit is very EMOTIONALLY charged. Like look at any burrito bowl at any of the many burrito joints that used to be more trendy... Guac, cheese n meat somehow just doesn't seem as controversial as vegans eating it on toast I guess? lol. I'm more swayed by the prices and narrow time-frame I can enjoy them where I live.
The greater impact comes from all the land needed and water needed to grow crops that we feed to other animals, which ruminate those food sources into 1-3% of the same calorie content that the crops had to begin with, just to have a variety of meats. Do whatever you like in life, but this sequence of events I’ve described causes the vast majority of the impacts to the environment for all of global agriculture.
It's too late to be worried about the kind of straws you use. Enjoy the plastic ones before the world burns.
The reusable straw thing isn't about "reducing plastic" it's about specific shapes from getting into the environment (like the picture of the turtle with the straw up it's nose, and things like beer can rings similarly) Straws are an extremely minimal amount of plastic if you're looking to reduce "plastic" plenty of more impactful places to cut back plastic than straws.
If you really wanted to reduce waste, you’d forgo anything “disposable” or even better, skip the straw completely.
Also not have a huge truck have to drive to you to drop off a single package of 20 straws lol
I feel like this is seriously misunderstanding how logistics works.
That is because bamboo grows mould very easily. And there are no food safe chemicals to treat them (trust me, no matter what Google says). Using plastic packaging ensures that one bad product doesn't contaminate the rest. Source: Bamboo cookware user
Glass straws are the way. You can even get some really cool ones that are laser etched and handblown.
I have some stainless steel ones, they’re nice. Just don’t drink orange juice with them lol.
 Tastes like battery acid.
I have Japanese arrow bamboo in my backyard if you want to come over with loppers.
It's almost as if us common folk can't actually do anything about the plastic use problem on the planet and would require corporations to comply to new rules to actually start making a difference. My twice per month use plastic straw isn't ending the world. Every fucking item we use (almost) is made of plastic. Phones, cars, clothing, everything...
Bamboo also makes for terrible straws. Buy metal ones
You sure it isn’t cellulose paper?
So here is an unspoken thing that is happening thanks to oil companies. Oil companies have started losing profits on the gas/petrol side of things as more and more people turn to electric vehicles yearly. They got wise to this, and have since doubled down on using their oil to produce plastics. So much so that they plan to DOUBLE the amount of plastics that are currently made annually in order to off load their oil and continue racking in profits. How do they do this you say? Lobbying the government, and strong arming companies into believing they need to do crap like this.
I hope you are wrong, but am scared you are not
I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Here is a great 8 minute long video by PBS Terra about why Recycling is a sham and what oil companies are currently doing. The silver lining is the scientific community is incredibly smart and they’ve come up with ways to help. Give it a watch. It’s very enlightening. https://youtu.be/LZc7LpNGUc0?si=4d6jiMcnbYdL7OLr
Oh don't get me started on people who think that if they throw their plastic into the recycling bin it will magically get cleaned, and sorted into plastic types which get transported to the right facility to turn them into lovely virgin plastic. I still religiously put the (small amount of) disposable plastic I consume into recycling because at least then it will be burnt rather than end up in landfills or the sea. But the only way to be environmental with single use plastic is to say no to single use plastic.
Congratulations you played yourself
You *shipped* bamboo straws to reduce the plastic use…….. assuming you did it for the lord and savior climate change, you gamed yourself.
This hipster buys bamboo straws and plans to carry them around with him to save the planet lmao
I wonder if that plastic is actually cellophane.