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The author is conflating two separate issues. Their main point is at the end: > Banning plastic straws is stupid. They're probably right that throwing out pl
by andjd 4y ago
The author is conflating two separate issues.
Their main point is at the end:
> Banning plastic straws is stupid.
They're probably right that throwing out plastic straws is better than throwing them in the recycling, assuming that plastic straws can't be efficiently recycled. That being said, many US recycling utilities typically sort the recycling on shore, and plastics that are too small to be efficiently identified and recycled (such as straws and loose bottle caps) will just be sent to the landfill regardless. How recycling is processed differs a lot across the country, so it's hard to make generalizations.
But that doesn't support their final conclusion about whether plastic straws should be banned. The author doesn't give a reason, but implicitly that they think paper straws suck, and must suck. Which a lot of the ones today do. But it's an odd hill to die on, given that basically all straws before 1960 were made of paper. Their ire should probably be directed at the establishments they frequent for buying cheap and terrible paper straws instead of spending a bit more to get good quality paper straws. Such companies probably want to get you pissed off by paper straws to demand that your government remind the ban so they can go back to using cheaper plastic straws.
- legitster 4y ago> Their ire should probably be directed at the establishments they frequent for buying cheap and terrible paper straws instead of spending a bit more to get good quality paper straws In our area, biodegradable plastic straws were already a popular option but the plastic ban included them.
- f1refly 4y ago"Biodegradable" plastics are a scam, they only break down into smaller parts to eventuelly become microplastic that will accumulate in our bodies.
- anamax 4y ago> But it's an odd hill to die on, given that basically all straws before 1960 were made of paper. The fact that all pre-1960 straws were paper does not imply that paper straws, let alone paper straws today, do not suck.
- munk-a 4y agoIvory combs are pretty sweet apparently, they're a lot nicer to use than wooden or plastic combs... I'm not seeing much outrage over the fact that we're being forced not to use them in the modern world. People adjust - paper straws are servicable for most purposes, for things like bubble tea reusable straws are a reasonable investment (if you're having it often).
- thebean11 4y ago> for things like bubble tea reusable straws are a reasonable investment You're suggesting people bring their own straws to bubble tea? That's very impractical.
- munk-a 4y agoI don't see why - we've managed it fine and I've got a terrible memory. I've got a messanger bag and usually just keep a metal straw in it for whenever we want some. A fair number of people carry around reusable coffee travel mugs and those are far more of a pain in terms of size and weight. I'd clarify, I'm living in Canada so there might be some cultural differences here.
- mpalczewski 4y agocoffee is an everyday thing for many people. Bubble tea is a 1-4 times a year thing for me. I prefer not to carry a bag. carrying around a straw is less practical than just not having bubble tea.
- munk-a 4y agoI think that's totally reasonable yea - reusable items aren't environmentally sane for infrequent purchases - if you drink coffee a few times a year it'd be silly to get a travel mug, similar to bubble tea straws. So, on the other hand, if the straw came with a 5cent disposal fee it probably wouldn't significantly impact your purchase.
- seadan83 4y agoThe straw is not the main point of the article but to demonstrate a larger point that plastics are better off in a landfil (according to the article).. discussing straws in specific (the title is clickbait), is missing the point
- playpause 4y ago> spending a bit more to get good quality paper straws I am yet to see one of these
- vanviegen 4y agoBamboo straws are actually really nice. But I guess that they're a bit more expensive that paper straws, as we're still seeing the latter in many places.