Sustainable Switch: Choose Reusable Straws over Plastic
It's time to switch to reusable straws. Over 500,000,000 single-use plastic straws are discarded every day, and that's just in the United States alone. Single-use straws are ludicrously bad for the environment, and we can't seem to stop using them. They're served with every drink at restaurants, bars, parties, and events, whether we ask for them or not.
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Like other plastics, they do not biodegrade. Some straws can be recycled, but not all, and it can depend on the recycling program where you live. They usually end up in the garbage anyway, adding to landfills, and polluting parks, beaches, and oceans. Have you seen that video of a marine biologist removing a straw from a turtle's nose? I won't link to those stories of plastic straws' impact on marine life and birds because the images are too disturbing.
Instead, let's focus on solutions. The easiest thing you can do at a bar or restaurant is to ask for your drink with no straw. But certain drinks like thick smoothies, bubble tea, and some cocktails do require straws to avoid a messy drinking experience. You can encourage your favourite haunts to switch to compostable straws, like ones made from paper or hay.
To adopt using reusable straws for the home, you can now easily find glass straws , metal straws, silicone straws, and bamboo straws in health food stores and major supermarkets.
All of them can be washed in the dishwasher. The transparency of the glass straws makes them easier than the others to see if they require further cleaning. If so, manually clean with the cleaning brush that come with the straws, which only takes a couple of seconds.
Do you use sustainable straws? Let us know which ones you recommend in the comments below.