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Original poster

To just want plastic straws back!

329 replies

Malahide · 08/08/2024 21:16

Lighthearted - mostly!

I’m so sick of paper straws turning to mush before a drink is even finished, they just aren’t fit for purpose. Add in the awful wooden cutlery that you now get (I want my salad to actually taste like salad, not wood!!) and the cardboard takeaway containers which begin to disintegrate as soon as they touch food and all of a sudden I’m reconsidering whether the planet is really worth saving…

I’m joking of course but surely I’m not the only one who feels this way? There have to be better alternatives out there than paper, wood & cardboard that just seem to ruin everything!

OP posts:
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goneaway2 · 08/08/2024 22:03

oakleaffy · 08/08/2024 21:50

In Yugoslavia as a kid on holiday {years ago} the straws were actually STRAW.
They were wonderful.
Don't know why they can't make them nowadays.

They do!

https://www.mdsassociates.com/suck-on-straws-made-from-wheat#:~:text=When%20wheat%20straw%20is%20processed,stirrers%20and%20plastic%20drink%20straws.

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Those wheat straws are a menace for anyone with coeliac diease. I've been very nearly glutened by one as didn't realise it was made from wheat. Bubbology use them and you have to ask for a paper alternative, which is fine if you remember to do so! They don't even have a sign warning you of the wheat straws.

Original poster
Malahide · 08/08/2024 22:02

Purplecrush · 08/08/2024 22:01

I have sane menopausal friends telling me that the attached bottle tops are tipping them completely over the edge😁

I’m slowly getting used to them, but yes - very annoying. Those bloody lids have been the cause of many drink in bag spillages..

OP posts:
MrsPinkFlower · 08/08/2024 22:01

The majority of people using straws aren’t doing it because they’re disabled. As I said, if you have a need for a straw then understandably you’d carry them around with you instead of using paper straws. Most people who use paper straws do it because they’re readily available from whoever is selling your drink. If they didn’t supply a straw, most people would just drink from the cup.

ftp · 08/08/2024 22:01

My biggest bug bear is those pressed paper cutlery. Even with a salad (McDonalds) they do not work

Purplecrush · 08/08/2024 22:01

I have sane menopausal friends telling me that the attached bottle tops are tipping them completely over the edge😁

Original poster
Malahide · 08/08/2024 22:00

Elphame · 08/08/2024 21:19

If you think paper straws are bad - try pasta straws......!

I adore our pasta straws!! They last for ages and you can have a nibble on them afterwards if you fancy🤣

OP posts:
ftp · 08/08/2024 21:59

worcesterpear · 08/08/2024 21:20

Yes, I don't mind bamboo cutlery or cardboard containers, but paper straws are awful and not fit for purpose. It's especially ridiculous when you get the drink in a plastic cup, or with a plastic lid.

This 😍

XenoBitch · 08/08/2024 21:59

Rainydayinlondon · 08/08/2024 21:58

Exactly!! What is the point ?

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The worst is the hot milkshakes that Costa do. Hot drink + paper straw = paper mache. And in a plastic cup too.

Purplecrush · 08/08/2024 21:59

Completely agree.
I wonder if I have a sensory issue with the wood because it makes my skin crawl.
I have taken to having a child's cutlery set in my bag as a result.
The straws are unusable IMO.

Pookerrod · 08/08/2024 21:58

Elphame · 08/08/2024 21:19

If you think paper straws are bad - try pasta straws......!

I was coming here to say try the pasta straws. I think they’re great! Had one at a street party a few weeks ago and thought they were so much better than the paper ones.

GinAndGooseberries · 08/08/2024 21:58

Agree.

Rainydayinlondon · 08/08/2024 21:58

worcesterpear · 08/08/2024 21:20

Yes, I don't mind bamboo cutlery or cardboard containers, but paper straws are awful and not fit for purpose. It's especially ridiculous when you get the drink in a plastic cup, or with a plastic lid.

Exactly!! What is the point ?

Biffbaff · 08/08/2024 21:57

OMG I nearly started a thread on this myself last week after struggling for the eleventy millionth time this summer holiday to pierce my kid's drinks carton with a shitty paper straw. They just bend and go flat! Sorry but some things are worth ruining the planet over!!

In all seriousness there must be a better alternative than paper. Some kind of starch-based thing? Bamboo? I don't know, I'm not a scientist.

All I know is that rich people are flying private jets left right and centre and I am fannying around with subpar children's drinks vessels. Where's the humanity!

InAnyOtherLife · 08/08/2024 21:57

You can buy compostable straws that feel like plastic - I got a huge box from Amazon. Aldi sell them too.

Genevieva · 08/08/2024 21:56

ShoehornSheryl · 08/08/2024 21:21

We went to America last year and the single use plastic and the like was ASTOUNDING. I’m sure other countries are the same. And yet little old England is trying to save the planet with paper straws and attaching the fecking bottle lid to the bottle.

I think it’s EU wide on both counts. Certainly the attached bottle lid is.

BatshitCrazyWoman · 08/08/2024 21:56

Malahide · 08/08/2024 21:20

You’ve never gotten a takeaway iced coffee or smoothie in your lifetime then?

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I know you aren't asking me this question, but I don't buy takeaway coffee, iced or otherwise, and smoothies and milkshakes are 🤢🤮🤢 I don't think I'm that unusual 😂

Not a fan of paper straws though, but I don't use straws much ....

XenoBitch · 08/08/2024 21:56

girlswillbegirls · 08/08/2024 21:54

Exactly. Best thing is to stop using straws, we don't need them. And I would add stop using any single use material. Just reusable plates and glasses.

We only have this planet, which needs a lot of change from us for the next generations to be able to live in it, and all we think is we don't like paper straws.

Edited
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Many people do need straws.

Octavia64 · 08/08/2024 21:55

The metal ones taste weird.

I use silicone straws now.

I also have several reusable cold drink cups with lid and thick plastic straw.

Original poster
Malahide · 08/08/2024 21:55

girlswillbegirls · 08/08/2024 21:54

Exactly. Best thing is to stop using straws, we don't need them. And I would add stop using any single use material. Just reusable plates and glasses.

We only have this planet, which needs a lot of change from us for the next generations to be able to live in it, and all we think is we don't like paper straws.

Edited
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Completely glossing over the fact that many people do need them?

OP posts:
HansHolbein · 08/08/2024 21:54

I bulk buy plastic straws from eBay. I’m not using shitty paper straws.

girlswillbegirls · 08/08/2024 21:54

Hobbesmanc · 08/08/2024 21:19

Erm no not really. I just think about the benefits to the world. And thank god i have a mouth that can manage to drink without a straw

Exactly. Best thing is to stop using straws, we don't need them. And I would add stop using any single use material. Just reusable plates and glasses.

We only have this planet, which needs a lot of change from us for the next generations to be able to live in it, and all we think is we don't like paper straws.

WhichEllie · 08/08/2024 21:53

Many places in the US have moved to compostable/biodegradable straws that feel and function like plastic but aren’t. They fooled me when I moved here and everyone that visits me thinks they’re plastic. Much, MUCH better than the awful paper ones.

We need to switch to those in the UK too!

AhBiscuits · 08/08/2024 21:53

My kids have had a juice box with their packed lunches at holiday club this week. The crappy paper straws can't break through the foil.

TheMiraculousLadybug · 08/08/2024 21:53

I wish we lived in a parallel universe where they were good for the planet or something, so yanbu.

I am going to buy a metal straw I think as I really hate the paper ones. Is bringing cutlery out with me ott 🤔?

ODFOx · 08/08/2024 21:53

And with picture: they come in a felt roll.

To just want plastic straws back!
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