Reusable Straws – Reduce Your Plastic Footprint!
We’ve all seen photos of plastic debris floating in the ocean. Many of us have also witnessed first-hand the plastic pollution in rivers close to where we live. Dig into that debris a little and you’ll often find plastic straws, a single-use product now banned in some cities. Are reusable straws really better for the environment, though? Can reusable straws reduce your plastic footprint?
The impact of plastic straws
Every plastic straw ever produced will end up in landfill, as pollution or litter, or will be incinerated, releasing toxic chemicals into the air, water, and soil. Plastic production also requires the extraction of fossil fuels, which itself is a polluting industry.
In comparison, the disposal rate of metal reusable straws is about 3% over a five-year period. If we swapped 5 million plastic straws for metal straws now, in five years’ time a staggering 4,850,000 of those metal straws would still be in use. And there would be 5 million fewer plastic straws polluting the Earth.
Many cities and states have banned plastic straws!
Single-use plastic drinking straws are banned in several U.S. states, including:
- California
- Maine
- New Jersey
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
These plastic products are also banned in British Columbia, Canada, following a ban in Vancouver, BC, Canada. And the federal government in Canada is also planning a ban on single-use plastic straws as well as other single-use plastics.
Even IKEA stopped using plastic drinking straws in many of its outlets in 2019. In their place: plastic-free biodegradable straws.
Drinking straws might seem like a luxury item and unnecessary for many people but blanket bans aren’t a good idea. Why? Because certain disabilities make drinking from a cup very challenging, if not impossible. Drinking straws offer a safe way to stay hydrated and to enjoy community spaces for many people. That’s why it’s good to have alternatives available or keep some plastic drinking straws in reserve for those who need them.
What’s the alternative to plastic straws?
Many plastic straw alternatives have popped up in recent years, but many are almost as bad as the originals. This is because even straws made with biodegradable or compostable bio-plastics require special conditions to actually decompose fully. Otherwise, they also become litter or landfill. And if these items end up in green waste or recycling they can compromise those waste streams, jamming machinery and wasting time and resources.
What’s the alternative to plastic straws that actually works, then? Some good options include those that easily rot down in compost, including at home. Examples include:
- Paper straws with no plastic lining
- Pasta, rice, or tapioca straws
- Straws made of grain stalks like hay and rye
- Pressed leaf straws
- Bamboo straws – but only if made of real, whole bamboo wood.
The other alternative to single-use plastic straws is a metal reusable straw made with food-grade materials.
Are reusable drinking straws hygienic?
Part of the reason disposable drinking straws are so popular still is that when you’re done with one, you just throw it away. You don’t have to worry about cleaning the straw or sanitizing it for others to use.
It’s understandable, then, that reusable straws can seem unhygienic and unsafe, especially given concerns about COVID-19 and other viruses and bugs.
The reality, though, is that reusable metal drinking straws are easy for restaurants and cafes to sanitize. You just run these straws through the dishwasher as with glassware and cutlery.
At home, you can also clean reusable metal straws in the dishwasher, or use a special cleaning brush that fits through the straw. If necessary, you can also use sterilization tablets or hydrogen peroxide to kill germs, or boil drinking straws for five minutes in a saucepan of water.
Are reusable metal drinking straws eco-friendly?
Reusable drinking straws definitely help to eliminate plastic waste. Every time you use a reusable straw, that’s one less piece of plastic heading to landfill, incineration, or polluting the world’s oceans and waterways.
The trouble, though, is that to make a reusable metal drinking straw truly eco-friendly, you have to use it around 150 times! That’s because the carbon emissions associated with the production of a metal straw are about 150 times that of a single plastic straw. The creation of a reusable metal straw also requires about 90 times as much energy initially as the creation of a plastic straw.
These figures might make it seem futile to switch plastic straws for metal, but consider this:
On average, you’ll use more than 150 straws a year if you buy a drink with a straw just three times a week.
Part of the battle, then, is creating a reusable straw that’s convenient and easy to use and clean. This is where The Last Straw shines!
The Last Straw… you’ll ever need
The Last Straw is a carefully designed, compact, reusable telescopic metal straw. It comes in a handy keychain case you can attach to your keys, meaning you always have a reusable straw on hand (assuming you remember your keys!).
The Last Straw is made with rust-proof, food grade stainless steel. It measures just 8.4 cm when compact and 19 cm at full telescope. This fits most standard drinking glasses, bottles, and takeaway cups.
It’s best not to use your metal straw in hot beverages, given how well metal transfers heat.
The Last Straw is dishwasher safe and easy to clean by hand, with a cleaning brush included in the package. This convenient, non-toxic, plastic-free straw comes in a rust-proof anodised aluminium case with a silicone mid-seal for hygiene. The case is available in a variety of fun colours and makes a great gift for the folks in your life who just can’t kick the plastic straw habit.