FC Community
Discussion Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: lightningclix on April 10, 2019, 11:40:58 am
-
I am in charge of fundraising for our high school band and we are having a bazaar this month. One of my vendors makes and sells glass drinking straws here in the Pacific Northwest. I never really thought much about the whole plastic drinking straw issues...until I did some looking into it!
What are your thoughts? Which drinking straw do you prefer?
1) Plastic
2) Glass
3) Stainless Steel
4) Bamboo
Here are some fun facts I found while doing some research :)
Plastic Straws
The straws which might come with your cold soft drink or hot tea/coffee, are made from plastic. A chemical used to make plastic straws can mimic the activity of hormones, such as estrogen, in the body, which can lead to reproductive disorders, breast and prostate cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and other conditions.This risk is compounded when combined with heat, as warmer temperatures cause more compounds to leak out into food.
BPA free plastic straws can add other hormone-altering substances into the foods and drinks you and your family are consuming. Glass straws do not contain these harmful substances, you eliminate this risk when switching from plastic to glass straws.
Stainless Steel
There is much controversy over stainless steel straws as a good substitute for the plastic straw. Issues you may find with these metal straws are they can heat up or become very cold quickly, so the outside of the straw on you lids feel like it is burning or freezing. In addition there are many types of stainless steel; some have toxic metals combined within the stainless steel. When heated up these toxins can leach into your drink. Of course the obvious is that you can not see inside these straws to be sure they are clean and ready to us.
Bamboo Straws
This alternative is an unusual one but oh so natural! Bamboo drinking straws are eco-friendly and made from real whole bamboo stalks, however mildew which is a kind of mold that's particularly hard to get rid of once it starts loves the inside of straws. It may be harder to get out of bamboo straws because you can not see through the bamboo and it does not dry easily.
The other benefit of glass straws is that they are far more environmentally friendly. Traditional plastic straws are one-time-use, and cannot be recycled, so they wind up in landfills and our oceans as little micro-particles. This is when our fish end up eating them and we end up eating the fish with plastic. It is a scary cycle.
While one individual straw doesn’t create an environmental disaster, it’s the scale that creates an issue - in the United States alone, over 500 million disposable plastic straws are used and thrown away every year. You can wash and reuse glass straws, you won’t be contributing to the waste.
-
I like plastic straws
-
I did not read all of your post. I do not see a problem with plastic straws. I do use them. They are not a problem. It is sad that people think straws are a problem but thing styrofoam is alright or other things.
I have never heard of glass straws. I have heard of stainless steel straws and saw those at Walmart. As well as reusable plastic ones. That is all well and good until you have black mold growing inside of the straw because they do not get properly cleaned.
-
We use the reusable straws and wash them every day. I use pipe cleaners that just fit inside the straws, and a little bleach in my dishwasher, they are always nice and clean of course I also wash the glasses in the bleach water too. Nothing like having them clean. And saving money. We do use the plastic straws that are thrown away.
-
I prefer plastic straws because I can throw them away after I use it, and get a new one
-
i don't use straws that often
i have never heard of glass straws. They don't seem like a good option for me.
i have never seen reusable straws but they sound like a good alternative.
i think in a pinch i would still prefer the plastic straw. :rainbow: :peace: :wave:
-
I like plastic straws for anything that is in a take out cup. I have a stainless steel cup that has a stainless steel straw that I use all the time at home. I'm not so sure about glass straws because what happens if they break in your mouth. You could get hurt really bad.
-
I use stainless steel straws. The ones I bought came with a cleaning stick that I use to clean them after every use. I don't drink hot drinks with a straw so I am not concerned about anything related to the heat.
-
Just cant believe how correct we have become about everything. I dislike paper straws as the come off in your mouth. I am not familiar with any others except plastic, and if disposed of properly they are fine by me!
-
I like the plastic straws to but I have two of the glass straws that I use regularly when I’m taking my own drink to work because it is taller than normal straws and it fits in my cup better
-
I will use what ever is given to me.... I have not bought the steel ones or the other kind so I'm not picky
-
I had not heard of glass straws. They seem dangerous due to potential breakage and getting slivers of glass in my mouth/throat.
Stainless seem like a good option. Just need to clean them with a pipe cleaner of the specially designed brush that comes with some of them.
Plastic straws and all plastic are very convenient one-time use items, but so much of plastic has ended up in the oceans. There are CONTINENT size floating plastic "islands" floating in our oceans already. Some shores are so littered with plastic that all you see as the waves roll in is rolling plastic.
https://phys.org/news/2018-03-pacific-plastic-dump-larger.html
-
I use plastic straws that are washable and reusable. Glass sounds risky especially for children. Throwaway plastics are going to kill us all.
-
ive only seen plastic and use that one...hve heard of the stainess steel..
-
I prefer to use Plastic Straws. That is all that was available to me when I was growing up. I do not an issue with Plastic Straws. They are individually wrapped which means they are clean and sanitized and I prefer Plastic over the others.
-
so far at home I'm using plastic straws. I think I'd like to try bamboo.
-
I like plastic straws. They are reusable, too. I would think the other straws would change the taste of the drink, especially the metal ones. I would think glass straws would be dangerous because of their fragility. Bump them or drop them and you really have a mess of shards to clean up. I'll stick with my plastic straws, thank you.
-
What about biodegradable disposable paper straws, are they the best choice?
-
I just now received a reusable straw must be thick enough to wash them euwww. But I c they are useful they are hard plastic feels like glass, glass breaks still they are wide enough to wash.
-
I currently use plastic straws that are dishwasher safe. Better than the disposable ones.
-
I use metal ones, I bought them in a 4 pack with a carrying case, they come with a brush for cleaning..besides I also run through the dishwasher after I clean them out with the brush and soapy water. The plastic straws are being banned in more and more areas because people do not dispose of properly so they end up in the ocean and they last forever (slight exaggeration). Until you see what all the plastic junk is doing to the ocean and wildlife/marinelife you may think it does not matter, but it DOES. We have monthly clean up days in Malibu and Santa Monica and there is still mountains of plastic straws, coke/beverage 6 pack holders each time.
-
Must be a problem with straws since so many places are not using them at all or making them using some other material.
I use plastic straws and then wash them and reuse them so I don't feel as guilty. :peace:
:fish:
-
What a good informative post. You did a lot of research and have passed along a lot of information. I still don't know which I prefer, but I do believe the plastic is a problem. Our beaches are full of plastic straws, and sea animals eat them and die! I'll let the experts make the final decision, but for now, I would even use paper ones if they were available.
-
We were at a children's museum this last month. Ate a few snacks in the food court and the smoothies were served with paper straws. My brain was so confused with each sip. By the time I got to the end of the drink the straw was beginning to fall apart. I could easily see kids turning these into spit *bleep*.
-
I know a lot of places are banning plastic and I can remember when straws were made of paper. I think going back to that is a good idea
-
Just cant believe how correct we have become about everything. I dislike paper straws as the come off in your mouth. I am not familiar with any others except plastic, and if disposed of properly they are fine by me!
Exactly.
-
I had not heard of glass straws. They seem dangerous due to potential breakage and getting slivers of glass in my mouth/throat.
Stainless seem like a good option. Just need to clean them with a pipe cleaner of the specially designed brush that comes with some of them.
Plastic straws and all plastic are very convenient one-time use items, but so much of plastic has ended up in the oceans. There are CONTINENT size floating plastic "islands" floating in our oceans already. Some shores are so littered with plastic that all you see as the waves roll in is rolling plastic.
https://phys.org/news/2018-03-pacific-plastic-dump-larger.html
So then who ever is throwing the trash in the oceans needs to stop. I don't know why that would have ever been done to start with.
-
What about biodegradable disposable paper straws, are they the best choice?
Because when you put paper in water it is a mess. I could not imagine using a paper straw in a drink.
-
I use metal ones, I bought them in a 4 pack with a carrying case, they come with a brush for cleaning..besides I also run through the dishwasher after I clean them out with the brush and soapy water. The plastic straws are being banned in more and more areas because people do not dispose of properly so they end up in the ocean and they last forever (slight exaggeration). Until you see what all the plastic junk is doing to the ocean and wildlife/marinelife you may think it does not matter, but it DOES. We have monthly clean up days in Malibu and Santa Monica and there is still mountains of plastic straws, coke/beverage 6 pack holders each time.
What do you mean people do not dispose of them properly? They are usually thrown away still sticking in the throw away cup from McDonald's. The only place I have heard of them being banned is in California. And they are a bunch of idiots anyway.
I am not understanding how they are ending up in the ocean. I do not throw anything in the ocean. Looks like the solution is to stop throwing trash in the ocean. Simple fix. You are not going to get the entire country on board with recycling everything. Besides that if you purchase items that are made from recycled items the cost is about 3 times as high.
We have too many people in this country the way it is. We are way over populated. Another reason to close off the boarder to the south and stop thousands from waltzing in to this country with their brood of kids every day.
-
What a good informative post. You did a lot of research and have passed along a lot of information. I still don't know which I prefer, but I do believe the plastic is a problem. Our beaches are full of plastic straws, and sea animals eat them and die! I'll let the experts make the final decision, but for now, I would even use paper ones if they were available.
You do realize the experts are for partial birth abortion and even after birth "abortion" aka murder - right???
-
I have a Tumbler from Starbucks that included a Stainless Steel straw, it doesn't change the taste of the liquid while drinking it. Starbucks discontinued the steel straws because they were too dangerous & changed to reusable plastic straws, which I also have.... one of my kids chewed the end of it slightly, & it gets pretty stained & needs to be bleached frequently, but a good alternative to one use only straws.
There are alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, which we use & are not biodegradable -- they can make plastic out of HEMP that is biodegradable... but the oil industry controls our choices pretty much I guess. Sad.
-
I can't remember which store I was in but I saw compostable straws which I thought were an interesting alternative. I just checked and you can order these type of straws on Amazon.
-
I try to avoid plastic straws since they're bad for the environment but sometimes when I go out somewhere, I have to use them. I should probably invest in reusable straws.
-
Not sure why straws have become the villain of the plastic world when there are so much larger instances of unnecessary packaging etc. all over the place.
-
Interesting straw facts. I have never thought about it. The glass straws sound like a great idea, I would just be afraid of them breaking.
-
I avoid straws when I can. I guess I use them at restaurants.
-
i think that any substitute would be better than the paper straws. Those are the worst!
-
I'm afraid the use over ones wouldn't get cleaned properly so I'll stick with the throw aways or none at all
-
I would think glass is too fragile and would break easily if it's dropped.
-
According to Forbes, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are dumping more plastic into oceans than the rest of the world combined. Whe you have all these places using the ocean as a dump its pretty had to make a differance here , the trash on the shores isn't from here its from these places ! And we can't make these places stop !
-
They really sell glass straws? I have never heard about these. We use the plastic ones.
-
I usually use plastic straws.
-
I prefer plastic. I think there's more of an environmental issue with them than anything. As an alternative I would use glass.
-
According to Forbes, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are dumping more plastic into oceans than the rest of the world combined. Whe you have all these places using the ocean as a dump its pretty had to make a differance here , the trash on the shores isn't from here its from these places ! And we can't make these places stop !
It's our trash they're dumping. We ship our recyclable plastic to China for processing.
-
I've used plastic straws my whole life and never had any problem with them. Wouldn't trust glass straws and metal can grow bacteria if not cleaned properly and I don't think there is a way to clean a straw properly. I think people just panic way too easily now-a-days with this overload of information.
-
Not sure why straws have become the villain of the plastic world when there are so much larger instances of unnecessary packaging etc. all over the place.
Exactly. The Styrofoam containers your gravy biscuit comes in is so much worse.
-
According to Forbes, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are dumping more plastic into oceans than the rest of the world combined. Whe you have all these places using the ocean as a dump its pretty had to make a differance here , the trash on the shores isn't from here its from these places ! And we can't make these places stop !
It's our trash they're dumping. We ship our recyclable plastic to China for processing.
We ship our trash to China? I find that hard to believe. Why not just burn it. Plastic melts. I am still trying to figure out who thought it would be a good idea to dump trash in the ocean.
The world is over populated. And produces trash at an alarming rate. Recycling is good but who can afford to purchase recycled items. The cost is usually 3-4 times as high.
-
I've used plastic straws my whole life and never had any problem with them. Wouldn't trust glass straws and metal can grow bacteria if not cleaned properly and I don't think there is a way to clean a straw properly. I think people just panic way too easily now-a-days with this overload of information.
It is not about YOU having a problem with the straw. They are crying because they saw turtles get them stuck in their nose. Not sure how but I don't throw my straw from mcD in the ocean. I throw in the trash and if some idiot goes through and takes all the straws out and throws them in the ocean then that person is responsible.
I don't get why they are so upset about the straw but not the cups Pretty soon they will demand fast food use real glasses.
-
According to Forbes, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are dumping more plastic into oceans than the rest of the world combined. Whe you have all these places using the ocean as a dump its pretty had to make a differance here , the trash on the shores isn't from here its from these places ! And we can't make these places stop !
It's our trash they're dumping. We ship our recyclable plastic to China for processing.
We ship our trash to China? I find that hard to believe. Why not just burn it. Plastic melts. I am still trying to figure out who thought it would be a good idea to dump trash in the ocean.
The world is over populated. And produces trash at an alarming rate. Recycling is good but who can afford to purchase recycled items. The cost is usually 3-4 times as high.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-01-01/mountains-us-recycling-pile-china-restricts-imports
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/05/09/chinas-crackdown-on-trash-could-make-it-harder-for-u-s-cities-to-recycle/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3e8e41f79cdc
-
Trash doesn't just go away. It gets moved from place to place, leaving destruction in its' wake.
Maybe instead of recycling, we should look into producing things that will degrade without doing harm to humans, animals, or the environment.
-
I don't use plastic straws if I can help it. Usually I say no straws when I'm out dinning. Steel straws was interesting but the laziness & say no because of having to clean it. I just do my part in just not using plastic straws less often.
-
Usually don't use straws.