To just want plastic straws back!

[Malahide]

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!

Agree 100% with its resemblance to frog spawn, but I quite liked it all the same.

The plastic wrapping (such as on crisps) has got so thin it is rendered useless.

Wheat and pasta straws are a huge problem for allergies because restaurants aren’t disclosing them to customers as an allergen. You order a Coke thinking it’s fine and the straw sends you into anaphylactic shock.

What do you know about plastics to think it won't make a difference?

Banning single use plastics makes a massive difference, its part of an EU Directive.
I can see from your user name you must be Irish. In Ireland the best example was the levy introduceda more than 20 years ago with the supermarket plastic bags (single use flimsy ones). I saved tons of plastics and generated revenue for the Environment fund. It was hugely successful and changed the mentality of the population who now reuse bags (reusable ones) as a standard practice.

Plastic lids in milk bottles are now transparent to become recyclable. They are attached to the bottle to ensure they are recycled and won't generate microplastics. When you recycle plastic and dont dump it you are lowering the carbon footprint. All these measures will make a huge impact in the near future.
Maybe the only issue is that EU members plus UK have failed to communicate the importance of every single change in the new circular economy. But please try to read a bit about it. It's important to understand the importance of all these changes. Think about the success of the supermarket plastic bag levy. It only takes the change to become collective.

Before the ban came in, I went on a mission and went round as many shops as I can, even ones I had never been in and I also bought on eBay and Amazon, thousands of plastic straws to stockpile.

I cannot abide paper, metal or silicone straws. Only plastic ones suffice.

Imagine the millions of plastic straws in landfill.... If you want to add more you're an idiot.

Which had you actually read my post you would realise was not the point of this thread..

Do you even care that the earth is going to hell in a hand-cart?!

Absolutely. This causes my daughter huge anxiety.

Another vote for the solid compostable ones please !
I bought a frappe on a whim the other day as a treat and it was an infuriating experience ! I walked a whole 10min to my train before I started drinking it, and the paper straw had already started to disintegrate. And the guy had somehow filled the cup past its rim and halfway up the dome thing so I couldn't take the lid off and just drink it without wearing half of it (and besides, drinking iced drinks without a straw makes my teeth hurt). I do have some reusable straws at home that I occasionally remember to put in my bag, but then I use them, wash them, and forget to put them back.

Silicone straws beat plastic, cardboard, steel, glass. Reusable, soft and don’t leave a horrible metal taste. May have bought 5000 single use plastic straws the week before they were “banned”… in all honesty - almost all in the cupboard still since we got the silicone ones. Also HATE plastic tops attached to the bottles. It. Does. Not. Work!!! I bet supermarkets like - since adding these bottle tops, we now sell 40% more fizzy drinks… let me explain why… COS 40% is wasted and goes flat unintentionally and that’s NOT OK! Rant over.

The only time you don't want a plastic staw is capri sun ( evil engineering) or a McDs milkshake. Or any type of frappe thingies.

All those scuffing at straws I imagine having big milky moustache. I don't see anyone necking milkshakes.

I have bamboo, silicone and paper straws. Never when I need them on me.

Both can be consumed without straws….

Personally I don’t fancy walking through the city with a full, open cup. It doesn’t tend to go well.

I agree, allergens need to be disclosed. I would ask this every time if I have a celiac child/ relative.

We still use them , buy them on Amazon and carry some with us in the car and in bags

I’m all for recycling. I even tolerate subway’s manky cardboard salad box, but straws. Bring back plastic straws. I rarely have drinks that require straws but we were stuck at an airport a few weeks ago, thirsty and hungry, and I was really looking forward to washing down my quarter pounder with cheese with an ice cold Diet Coke. I slurped once, ok, I can do this, by the third slurp, I have removed the lid and drank from the cup. So disappointing.

Silicone straws.
Metal give me the shudders thinkinf about them.

Studies continually give differing results and no conclusive answers. Hot food appears to be a massive issue and can cause levels to exceed those allowed for coeliacs to consume food safely.

Why,though, are the paper straws on the outside of small drinks cartons packaged in little clear plastic packets?

Paper straws are not fit for purpose - they’re useless

I have some good quality paper straws for when really needed, rarely. I'm happy to sacrifice the plastic straw convenience for the sake of the turtles and other wildlife. At least I know it's one less straw that can get stuck up a poor turtles nose each time.

My retirement gig is going to be selling illicit items. So far I’m up the Straws and incandescent light bulbs.

I’ll let you all know when I open “Saltine’s straw and lightbulb emporium”. I imagine myself at clubs and restaurants wearing a long coat and sunglasses in the corner saying “psst buddy.. you looking for something 👀 .. I can hook you up… bendy or straight? I got something in a 75 watt if straws aren’t your thing”

I’ve just ordered a bumper pack of plastic straws on the back of this thread. Fuck it.

You do realise that plastic drinking straws are absolutely irrelevant in the planet's production of plastic waste? For starters, there's more plastic in the plastic lids that they put on the cups than the bloody straws ever had.

It was purely a symbolic thing that some environmentalist celebs cooked up to make them feel warm and fuzzy inside.