The misguided anti-foam
cup and anti-shopping bag efforts have now been expanded and endorsed by ill-informed
G20 governments.
The new target: single use plastic straws.
Yes, billion if not
trillions of single use plastic straws are used annually: for pop/soda, energy drinks, juice boxes, protein drinks, smoothies, milk shakes, ice cream floats, and whenever someone cannot hold up a cup and needs assistance using a (preferable bent) straw.
On numerous counts, plastic straws are a far
superior to the new trend to bamboo, glass
or metal reusable/‘bring your own’ straws. Including the fact that plastic straws are LESS environmentally
harmful than the alternatives -- if full, life cycle factors are taken into
account.
Put simply, the attack
on disposable plastic straws is ideology gone amuck!
Some noteworthy facts:
Recycling: Yes, straws can be
recycled if bundled together in a plastic bag before throwing them into a
recycling bin. This prevents fly away issues when going through recycling plant
conveyor belts.
Landfill - Straws crush easily and take up little landfill space. After
all, they are very thin cylinders surrounding air.
Repurpose - Straws – like all petroleum derivatives – can be used as fuel[i].
Their other superior
benefits include:
Safety - Plastic straws do not damage teeth or mouths or cause bleeding as they are thin and
very flexible. As indicated by the
charts below, bamboo, glass and metal substitutes can be dangerous and
are not recommended for use by children EVER!
Similarly, bamboo, glass
and metal straws can be hazardous as they can damage to teeth/dentures, mouths and bleeding for seniors or anyone with hand control issues or who requires a nurse or another person's ‘assistance’.
Sanitary – Single use straws, like single use syringes – prevent the spread
of bacteria and viruses from the ‘food preparation environment’.
With single use, plastic
straws – unlike ‘reusable’ bamboo, glass or metal straws -- there is no worry
or risk of bacteria and virus build
up inside the straw to their ‘owner’ or their transmission to any other
person who might reuse the straw.
No E.coli, no salmonella, no listeria build up from possibly contaminated unboilded water or poorly washes vegetables and fruits. And no risk of transmission to others of HIV[ii], hepatitis B and hepatitis Cor the far more common strep throat, common cold, mumps, herpes simplex, mononucleosis[iii].
To stay sterile and safe, bamboo, glass and metal
straws, need to have their insides scrubbed with a special
(supplied) pipe-cleaner brush after each use and then immediately washed
with soap and hot water (both of which have environmental impacts) each time,
and, finally, left to air dry after each use on a separate drying
stand – sold separately.
You also need a special pouch or container for carrying around your bamboo or glass or metal straw(s) so they don't get plugged with lint and debris from your pocket or backpack. This too is normally sold separately.
More importantly, whatever pouch or container you use for their transportation/storage, it too must be sterilized with soap and hot water - or washing machine-dryer cycle - at least once a week as bacteria and mold can grow rapidly in their dark, moist recesses [iv].
Cost and convenience – As noted in the chart below, plastic straws are extremely
inexpensive and given out individually for FREE at most fast food and
convenience stores. Personal bamboo,
glass or metal straws are far more expensive.
Having to carry one or
two bamboo, glass or metals straws with you at all times -- every day –
is a nuisance. It is also annoying and an added expense when
they chip or break when dropped and especially when carried in a back pant
pocket, front pocket, etc.
OCEAN dumps
If any straws manage to
get to the sea or ocean, their hollow centres and flimsy design assure a quick
end despite the rhetoric of a 200 year ocean life by 4Ocean [v].
Straws readily sink and,
between ocean wave action and the ultraviolet of sunlight, break down and
decompose[vi] swiftly. How swiftly is unknown, as such research
would be contrary to the anti-plastic mindset.
If any straws ended up in
any of the planet’s 5 ocean gyres[vii], especially the
mid-Pacific gyre, the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch, they would by then
be in very tiny microscopic bits, for just like all the other plastic from
bottles and jugs and other items that end up in the ocean, they decompose.
Even Wikipedia admits
that the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch cannot be seen by satellites nor
noticed by any boats travelling through it.[vii]
Why? Because 94% of
plastic in this area is under 5 mm in size or 4 particles
per cubic meter, and as microplastics as
small as 1.6 micrometres (6.3×10−5 in) in
diameter! [viii].
Plastic garbage photos?
If the so-called Pacific
Garbage Patch is invisible, where do the readily disseminated online pictures
of thick heaps of large floating plastic debris come from – if true?
They are nice propaganda
but not true of mid-ocean as noted above.
Such accumulations of
intact plastic are only to be found at river estuaries, bays, lake shores or
coastlines -- i.e., close to human
habitation.
Whether they are from reckless human behavior or, more
likely, Nature’s disasters of flooding, tornadoes/cyclones, hurricanes/typhoons and
earthquakes, in all these locations,
plastic debris can easily be collected if citizens and governments care to do
so.
It is an issue of education
and/or simple clean up.
Followed by the 3 Rs:
reuse, re-purpose and recycle.
As for any large plastic
debris found on the ocean, it is, in all likelihood, from a fishing boat, ship, cruise liner, cargo ship, military naval vessel or submarine, or sailboat which have
broken apart and sunk in mid-ocean; with all kinds of equipment and containers
and food utensils and personal items left 'floating at sea’.
Even with modern radar, weather forecasts and even
sonar, such ocean disasters are common.
The Bermuda Triangle is
notorious for its frequent hurricanes. And every year there are -- around the world -- losses to hurricanes/typhoons, tropical storms, tidal
waves, tsunamis, and icebergs -- a la the Titanic. And so too with coastal reefs.
According to Wikipedia,
in 2018 alone some 200 large vessels were shipwrecked[ix].
Any plastics from such
sources left afloat or ‘abandoned’ are done so involuntarily, and attest to a human tragedy!
Put simply, Nature’s
rages win out over human plans.
Case Study
The anti-plastic video, The Swim [x] shows various items collected on their ocean research boat. All are still solid
and recognizable: a 10 gallon green jug with its blue cap still securely on, a
metre length of a fisherman’s net with a toothbrush stuck in it, a single water
bottle with its cap still on, a single plastic shopping bag, a drinking cup, a
single sneaker (rubber sole upward), a laundry basket, a plastic bed support
frame, etc.
Is there really any
doubt that all this debris is from some human activity that went wrong? Probably
thanks to nature!
If the video and these
anti-plastic activist had been around in 1912, when the Titanic sank, similar
items would have be found afloat but made of wood, metal, leather, hemp and the
occasional luxury plastic cellophane hair clips and combs.
Environmental Life Cycle
Plastic straws – or foam
cups or thin shopping bags – as petroleum byproducts, are best:
·
Recyclable or used as
fuel
·
No cutting of trees for
paper straws or endangered bamboo forests (Remember the panda’s plight!)[xi].
·
No mining for metal and
steel manufacturing which is electricity intensive, water intensive and a major
source of both carbon dioxide and slag[xii].
·
Glass is also
problematic: excavating silica sand and its transportation to a factory;
combustion in a hot furnace using wood, natural gas or petroleum), and release
not only of carbon dioxide (CO2) but also sulphur dioxide (SO2) and
nitrogen oxides (NOx) which cause air acidification and SMOG. Potentially harmful particles of glass also
get released into the air that is breathed.[xiii]
·
As bamboo straws, steel
straws and glass straws are much, much heavier than plastic straws, their final
transportation and shipping -- from factory to retail outlets -- requires far, far more burning of fossil fuels
in diesel or gasoline engines.
·
Finally, the simple
tasks of moving these items onto ships and trucks and then unpacking them —i.e.
Labour effort/costs, and storage space factors, make plastic the best choice.
Summary and Charts:
In closing, single use
plastic straws -- and foam cups and thin plastic shopping bags -- are far
superior to the alternatives being advocated by misguided environmentalists and
the governments who hear their outcry and do not bother to check the facts and
the real costs to the environment and ordinary people’s lives.
Put simply, all these
plastic petroleum byproducts should all be praised rather
than condemned; for they are light weight, easily stored, very inexpensive,
maximize health safety, have less life cycle (material extraction/collection,
processing and transportation) environmental costs, and can all be
recycled.
And they make life for
ordinary people easier and more convenient.
STRAW
ALTERNATIVES best option *** good 2nd choice **
|
NB: Medical and dental professions consider
straws essential at times:
-
To protect teeth from coffee
or tea staining, reduce chance of tooth decay when drinking fruit juices or
sugary liquids by the young, the elderly and all ages in between.
-
Help when hand injury or
other disability prevent holding a cup
or other liquid container to the mouth.
-
More sanitary than exposed
cup rim.
|
|
Plastic
|
Paper
|
Bamboo
|
Glass
|
Steel
|
Cost per Single Straw
|
0.5 cents ***
|
2.5 cents
|
19 cents to 100 cents
|
$3.50 to $15.00 FOR BASIC STRAWS
|
$2.50 and up
|
Price ratio with plastic as 1
|
1 ***
|
5
|
38 to 200
|
700 to 3000
|
500 and up
|
Cost factor/viability for commercial food situations
|
Fast foods,
take-out, coffee shops, etc.
***
|
Fast foods, take-out, coffee shops, etc.**
|
Too pricy except for high end bars and restaurants
|
Too pricy except for high end bars and restaurants
|
Too pricy except for high end bars and restaurants
|
Injury Risk
|
Low ***
|
Low ***
|
Medium - bsamboo slivers as wood deteriorates with
repeated usage
|
High:
- broken glass in mouth
- Jabbing as rigid
- Chip teeth if bite down
|
High:
tooth chipping
jabs and cuts as not flexible
from possible jagged edging
|
Not
recommended for child use ever!
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
Recyclability
|
Yes – surprise
***
|
Yes ***
|
NO
|
Yes ***
|
Yes ***
|
Decompose in landfill
|
up to 200 years
|
2 to 6 months***
|
4 to 6 months
|
Never
|
Never
|
Designed to be reusable
|
NO
|
NO
|
Yes – for one year maximum if well cared for[xiii]
|
Yes –decades***
though risk of breakage when
dropped or in pocket is high.
|
Yes – decades***
though risk of bending damage if
carried in pant pocket is high.
|
Maintenance/soap and water washing to prevent
bacteria growth/hazard
|
None***
|
None***
|
YES– to prevent build up of fruit pulp, ice cream
soda, and general bacteria growth:
*must use brush inside after
every use
*must be kept upright while interior air dries
|
YES– to prevent build up of fruit pulp, ice cream
soda, and general bacteria growth:
*must use brush inside after
every use
*must be kept upright while interior air dries
|
YES – to prevent build up of fruit pulp, ice cream
soda, and general bacteria growth:
*must use brush inside after
every use
*must be kept upright while interior air dries
|
Cool liquid
|
Yes***
|
Yes***
|
Yes***
|
Yes***
|
Yes***
|
Freezing/chilled liquid
|
Yes***
|
Yes***
|
Yes***
|
Yes***
|
NO
|
Hot liquid
|
Yes ***
|
NO
|
Yes***
|
Yes***
|
NO
|
Other
Considerations
|
No ‘side effects’***
|
Add taste;
when used with alcohol or ice, get soggy quickly and get crushed/break[xiv]
|
Woody aftertaste
AWKWARD TO CARRY IN POCKET.
Need wash/drying time before storing on one’s
body/purse
Brush made with nylon/plastic bristles
|
Lips can stick to glass.
Noisy when touch glass container
AWKWARD TO CARRY IN POCKET.
Need wash/drying time before storing on one’s
body/purse
Brush made with nylon/plastic bristles
|
Metallic aftertaste
Lips can stick to cold metal.
AWKWARD TO CARRY IN POCKET.
Need wash/drying time before storing on one’s
body/purse
Brush made with nylon/plastic bristles
|
Replacement need
|
After a single use
|
After a single use
|
Easily lost
|
Easily lost/broken
|
Easily lost
|
[i]See answers re: recycling and as a fuel source at
[xiv] https://bamboostrawgirl.com/pages/bamboo-straw-care