We all have used plastic straws for drinking more than once, whether its from a burger chain or from a smoothie stall, and once the drink is consumed, well, toss it in the recycling bin hoping that it would once again be broken down and re-used in a recycling station. However, only a few would know the dire consequences of tossing out the straw, even in the recyclable dustbin, as the majority of the wasted plastic straws either way ends up in a landfill/ocean, either by people unwilling to do such a tedious task of recycling, or by corporations just ignoring it as it wastes time and money. Some statistics states that the U.S. uses over 170-390 million plastic straws each day, and pretty much most of it ends up in landfills or polluting the environment.
In the long run plastic straws will cause numerous biohazards and health hazards as those straws, if ended up in the ocean for a few years, will erode to microplastics pieces, which if ingested by all fishes, would ultimately collapse the seafood and marine life industries catastrophically. A hidden domino effect.
Well then, use paper straws. But Here’s the catch: according to cleanwater.org, its quite the opposite ! As the creation of paper straws require paper which mainly comes from trees, and trees help in reducing the CO2 present in the atmosphere, so harvesting trees for paper straws just promote deforestation and habitat destruction. Another downside of paper, is that it requires 4 times the amount of water, compared to plastics, to be manufactured, and because of how its made, it would require more vehicles to transport it, promoting further CO2 and greenhouse gases production, and after usage, more paper in landfills.
But the advantage here being that it is much easier to bio-degrade paper than plastic, and it promotes a slightly safer environment. Sadly, its untrue as some corporations coat it with a layer of non toxic hydro-repellent, so that it does not dissolve in the drink. And the cost of producing a paper straw is still around 6 times that of plastic counterparts, with most corporations focus being cost cuttings & profitability.
It seems like its impossible to introduce paper straws in the market in the first place, unless there exist a faster yet cheaper method to produce the same straws for break-even costs and energy, or a method to charge the coffee cups by an extra dollar by mentioning it as “Sustainable and super environmentally option”. In my opinion, its a total scam.
However, all hope is not lost as corporations are starting to invest in paper straws and other industries, as the government intervenes to introduce new laws of banning plastics, and replacing it with renewables – by using other materials to make paper in the first place. So the advantage of using paper straws will eventually break even in economical and environmental usage, provided active research is being done.
Another alternative could be to use metal straws, as you can use it multiple times without worrying about sea turtles being harmed, but making those straws in the first place would require so much energy, labour, and resources, that the amount of straw usage you must do to be net-even with those of plastic ones, would be in hundreds of coffee cups, making it illogical to own one. Let alone loosing it or spending energy to clean it
In conclusion, currently its best to not use straws at all. Just take a sip.
Straws are not a topic that would have come to mind for me for a passion blog since they are just a small aspect of environmentalism but reading this it is easy to see why everyone pushes for plastic alternatives to straws, and why it is hard to change. This brings up great points about why paper and metal straws are still not great alternatives and why plastic was probably used in the first place. I also agree it is better to avoid using straws than worry about what kind of straw will be best.
Hi Samarth,
This was a really interesting blog about the positives and negatives surrounding straws. I agree that plastic straws need to begin to become obsolete as the effects they have on the environment are disastrous. Until reading your blog, I was not aware of all the negatives surrounding paper and metals straws such as deforestation and extensive labor. It does seem that currently the best option is just to not use straws all together. Great post!
This is the debate that plays in my mind every time I get a drink from somewhere. I love using a straw! But I also like the environment and don’t wish to hurt it. So I try my best to recycle the straws whenever I can. I liked that you brought up the point that manufacturing the paper straws uses up so much of other natural resources that it doesn’t really make the final product worth the extra costs. I think if the industry just got rid of straws all together, I would finally be able to give up using one. But only in that extreme. I like when companies/fast food places use those lids that are designed to be used without a straw that make tilting the cup to drink easier. Maybe thats the first step in getting rid of straws… who knows.