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It is so obvious, and has been known for years, yet the EU banned plastic straws because of the waste in the oceans, so now every drink tastes like a schoolbook
by dark-star 4y ago
It is so obvious, and has been known for years, yet the EU banned plastic straws because of the waste in the oceans, so now every drink tastes like a schoolbook. Well done EU...
- pas 4y agoif there were a post with "Single use plastics account for an alarming amount of plastics in the oceans" would you think otherwise? both are a problem. the industrial fishing nets degrade slower, the microplastics (that then likely bioaccumulates) comes from all sources.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Alupis 4y agoThe data the plastic straw bans were based on was entirely made up by a 9 year old[1][2][3] for a school report. Entirely made up, based on nothing. Yet... here we are with plastic straw and bag bans... Let's think about that for a minute while we contemplate all of the similar "data driven" bans we endure. [1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/07/18/anti-straw-movement-based-unverified-statistic-500-million-day/750563002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/07/18/anti-straw-mo... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/business/plastic-straws-ban-fact-check-nyt.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/business/plastic-straws-b... [3] https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-no-evidence-for-governments-plastic-straw-claims https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-no-evidenc...
- washbrain 4y agoWait, the article you linked said he called manufacturers to get a range of daily production/market estimates of straw production. Hardly seems fair to say based on "nothing".
- Alupis 4y agoThe kid estimated every American (all ~325 million) used nearly 2 straws per day. It's just such an absurdly unrealistic number. I don't know how we can accept he conducted actual investigative research at the age of 9, particularly when the data is so wildly off from reality, no records were kept, and he can't even name some of the companies he supposedly based his "data" off of. So yes... entirely made up.
- washbrain 4y agoThat... Doesn't strike me as absurd. When I was a kid, I'd definitely use more than that. McDonalds serves like 70M meals a day alone. Customers often grab a couple straws and use one. Ask anyone who has worked fast food -people take three straws and discard two all the time. If you include straws like those little red coffee straws and juice box straws I can absolutely see hitting 500M. The number of at least 100M, so he got the order of magnitude right, I'm sure.
- Alupis 4y agoNobody cares how many straws you own... the (potential) issue was how many straws are discarded per day, and specifically how many made their way into waterways. It's no where near 500M - that is indeed an absurd number. Being one order of magnitude right isn't sufficient here (he could have just as easily made up 999M and still be one order or magnitude right) - particularly when fabricated "data" was used to push for legislation that impacted so many people yet has had so little effect on the environment. Additionally, this kind of stuff causes the public to lose faith in "science" and our legislators that push this type of agenda through. Not one entity stopped to research the data themselves - they used a 9 year old's made up data to ram through laws. Really should give us all pause when considering new legislation.
- pas 4y agohttps://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/plastics/single-use-plastics_en https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/plastics/single-use-... https://ec.europa.eu/environment/pdf/circular-economy/single-use_plastics_impact_assessment.pdf https://ec.europa.eu/environment/pdf/circular-economy/single... page 4, they name fishing gear and single use plastics. the footnote says "Based on JRC analysis and further data analysis provided by Eunomia" JRC is joint research centre the initial data is composed by a kid? sure, why not. is the whole ban based on that report? uh, no
- ksaj 4y agoThere are starch-based "plastic" utensils that look/feel like a slightly more matte version of the plastic most people are used to. The school my partner works at used them as a trial for a year. They had straws, spoons, forks, knives and plates made from it. The problem is they are more expensive than regular plastic or paper/cardboard, and people in general seem to be unwilling to pay that bit extra to keep non-biodegradable waste down. So everyone ends up with paper-based straws, etc, or sticking with plastics instead. In this case, they literally get what they pay for, because after the trial, they're complaining about all the paper products instead of budgeting to continue with the starch-based solution that was so very much better.
- 01100011 4y agoI wonder how they break down outside of a compost environment? My company uses "compostable" plastics which feel like normal plastic. I've used the same compostable clear plastic cup for months on end and it isn't showing any signs of degradation. I suspect it would break down in a proper compost pile(high temps and such) but outside of that environment it seems as durable as traditional plastic. Hopefully in an environment like the ocean it would be susceptible to bacteria and fungi but I wonder if that is sufficient.
- pfdietz 4y agoOur local composting company explicitly excludes compostable utensils and food containers. Compostable doesn't mean biodegradable. For example, compostable cardboard food containers may be coated with perfluoro compounds to prevent liquids from soaking into the cardboard. These don't biodegrade.
- ksaj 4y agoYes, that also goes for paper cups with the wax coating. They don't biodegrade and they aren't recyclable because of the wax. That's probably the same coating you mention. It seems that this solution just replaces one problematic material with another when it coats something that would otherwise be biodegradable.
- chefandy 4y agoIf only there was a way to convey liquids from handheld containers to your mouth without using a little tube!
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- hh3k0 4y ago> […] yet the EU banned plastic straws because of the waste in the oceans, so now every drink tastes like a schoolbook. Well done EU... Issues are not the Highlander: there can be more than one. Single-use plastics just happen to be a problem as well. And, for what it's worth, people who complain about paper straws remind me of sulky toddlers. Just FYI.
- ch4s3 4y agoPaper straws are inferior in every respect except not be plastic. People encounter them regularly and the plastic variety never represented a significant portion of the problem. So in some ways the imposition of paper straws feels insulting. No one is going after tire manufacturers or commercial fishing companies, but straws got taken first. It feels like the whole campaign to guilt people for their personal carbon footprint. It’s just so atomized and so far downstream of actual issues.
- triceratops 4y agoI honestly don't get the point of straws, other than for handicapped people or small children (who have washable sippy bottles and cups anyway). Are people that bad at drinking from cups and glasses?
- ch4s3 4y agoThe can protect sensitive teeth, prevent smearing of makeup, make it easier to drink while walking, help prevent spills of colored liquids onto stainable shirts, help modulate the speed at which you are drinking, keep ice from hitting your teeth, make it easier to finish think drinks like shakes, allow people who are convalescing to drink easily, and probably some things I didn’t think of.
- b112 4y agoprobably some things I didn’t think of. Spitballs, as a kid.
- Fiahil 4y agoSome restaurants I've been to, used real straws made of real wheat.
- HPsquared 4y agoThey could even be organic.