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Sibling comment mentions using the stems of grain crops as natural drinking straws. This was done, in the past, and is the origin of the word "straws" for the
by sillystuff 4y ago
Sibling comment mentions using the stems of grain crops as natural drinking straws. This was done, in the past, and is the origin of the word "straws" for the modern plastic variety.
Historically, straws were also made from waxed paper.
The issue isn't that plastic straws were banned, it is that plastic straws were banned and no additional guidance was provided e.g., mandating paper straws with natural wax coatings. This combined with corporate greed led to companies putting out the most profitable product within constraints of the law-- health and environmental safety be damned.
The first paragraph of the following article describes both types of historical drinking straws:
https://www.encyclopedia.com/manufacturing/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/drinking-straw https://www.encyclopedia.com/manufacturing/news-wires-white-...
edit: clarity
- ch4s3 4y agoWaxed straws used paraffin which is made from petroleum anyway, and they still get soaked through and collapse like the shitty PFAS coated straws. I know because they’re still made and I’ve used one, and the attic you posted mentions that draw back. Straws made from plant stalks simply aren’t suited to mass distribution. They aren’t uniform, can’t easily be sanitized before packaging, they’re fragile, and still leak and get soaked. The problem isn’t “corporate greed” it’s that there aren’t good alternatives to plastic for disposable straws.
- incompatible 4y agoAn alternative would be to do without a straw. Is it so hard to drink without one?
- guelo 4y agoThe demand comes from car culture. Drinking in cars is difficult without lid and straw.
- throwaway0a5e 4y agoYou ever try eating your fast food on the train/subway/bus. The same situation exists there too. The problem isn't the cars. The problem is that we don't all live in some fantasy where people have time to sit down and eat their food and drink not on the go. If it wasn't the straws people would be complaining about the plastic coffee cup lids.
- guelo 4y agoI haven't, my local public transit bans food and drink.
- Teever 4y agoSo how did people manage to eat on the go prior to the invention of straws and plastic lids?
- rad88 4y agoThe first hot dog man provided nice white gloves for his customers to hold the wieners and toppings with. They were supposed to be returned after use, but evidently they were too fancy and many customers would hang onto them. His wife suggested serving the wieners in a bun instead.
- bobthepanda 4y agoA lot of cultures have food wrapped in leaves (e.g. lotus or banana or corn). Like zongzi or tamales. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zongzi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zongzi
- cscurmudgeon 4y agoIs there any evidence to this? Or is the source just irrational car hate.
- ch4s3 4y agoI just like a straw in an iced coffee while walking around.
- feet 4y agoOne legitimate use is people with handicaps. Otherwise I totally agree, just drink from the cup
- a_imho 4y agoAdd toddlers to the list as well.
- amalcon 4y agoAsking people addicted to sugary drinks to forego straws entirely would result in serious dental issues.
- saurik 4y agoI am drinking something without a straw right now and maybe I just have a sophisticated technique but I seem to be putting the liquid into my mouth back over my tongue to the same overall place it goes when using a straw?
- everdrive 4y agoThis might be the most decadent problem ever: - Straws use disposable plastic - Replacement paper straws are coated with a toxic chemical - Straws are only necessary so that we can drink sugary drinks - Sugary drinks don't even taste that good, and also cause diabetes and tooth decay
- scythe 4y agoThe problem isn't really petroleum. We have more than enough petroleum for straws. And the carbon in paraffin is not in the atmosphere, which is good. The problem with plastic straws, if you believe their opponents (whose claims I have not evaluated), is that they are persistent pollutants that harm animals. If paraffin-waxed paper straws are not, that's an improvement, petroleum or no.
- ch4s3 4y agoThen we should put them in landfills.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- smolder 4y agoYou said it yourself, there aren't good mass distributable alternatives to plastic straws. I never thought banning them was a meaningful step towards sustainability, but maybe straws should be labor intensive and left for the service industry to figure out as opposed to being mass distribution-friendly. That'd be preferable to more PFAS, at the least.
- KSteffensen 4y agoGet a metal re-usable straw like the one used for yerba mate?
- BurningFrog 4y agoThe issue is absolutely that plastic straws were banned for no rational reason!
- eru 4y agoYes. At most they should have levied a tax on them in relation to their (alleged) impact. Outright bans are seldom as economically efficient as an appropriate tax. Or just make it part of a general carbon tax.
- rbanffy 4y ago> This combined with corporate greed led to companies putting out the most profitable product within constraints of the law-- health and environmental safety be damned I didn’t expect capitalism to be Fermi’s Filter, but kind of makes sense.