Post #787944 by swizzle on Fri, Jun 22, 2018 9:05 PM

I honestly don't know if they plan to actually ban plastic straws here but a lot of the bars that i frequent have already started ditching them in favor of metal ones. No doubt the initial outlay to purchase metal straws is not going to be cheap, but, even compensating for those that are stolen, i'm sure it would be much cheaper in the long term not having to constantly replenish stock the way you'd have to using plastic ones, although you're still going to have to pay someone to clean them.

As for paper straws, i hate them with a passion. I don't know if the quality of them has improved but years ago i used to go to a world renowned restaurant here that tries to be as environmentally friendly as possible and they always served drinks with paper straws which were useless. You'd only get half way through the drink and then have to ask for another one because the first one you had been using had just turned all soft at the bottom and become useless. I understand that the paper is more friendly to the environment than the plastic is but it seems pretty stupid when you are going through twice as many.

My biggest question is, and one you never see being talked about, is what is the impact on the environment when it comes to making paper straws? They are still a disposable product which are not going to be recycled. What's the carbon footprint they leave behind to make them? I'm sure the amount of water used to make them would be a LOT more than the water required to make and wash metal ones because metal ones are not being thrown out with every drink and need to be replaced. And sure the trees the paper comes from can be replanted but i guess it would be safe to say that we are cutting down trees at a rate that is faster than they can grow.

[ Edited by: swizzle 2018-06-23 06:48 ]