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> the problem is when it ends up in the water instead of being burned And that is entirely a question of waste management. The plastic straw that the EU just
by konschubert 2y ago
> the problem is when it ends up in the water instead of being burned
And that is entirely a question of waste management.
The plastic straw that the EU just outlawed would never have ended up in the ocean.
Meanwhile, plastic gets dumped into rivers by the truckloads - outside the EU.
- scrollaway 2y agoI swear the “plastic straw” argument is the absolute literal straw man argument. The EU didn’t outlaw “plastic straws”, it outlawed a range of things, one of which is the plastic straw. But then why do plastic straws always come up? Because this is also in response to a video of a turtle in pain with a plastic straw up its nose (so yes it did end up in the ocean). And creating less single use products is a step of waste management by the way. Now I’m not particularly in favour of paper straws, but bamboo straws have taken off as a replacement and that’s a rather good thing I would say. But again this is only about straws because you made it about straws. The same applies to many other single use plastics.
- exe34 2y agoIf you left his plastic straw alone, he wouldn't have to make it about straws, would he? Now all he has is a soggy paper straw that he got from a plastic wrapping.
- sva_ 2y ago> so yes it did end up in the ocean It was a European plastic straw? Was there an address on it, or how can you tell? The point the person you responded to was making wasn't about plastic straws, but rather about the fact that European trash almost never lands in the ocean: https://ourworldindata.org/ocean-plastics https://ourworldindata.org/ocean-plastics
- konschubert 2y agoIt’s not a strawman because the EU actually did rule out plastic straws. And as a parent, I can assure you that I get reminded of this on a weekly basis.
- Viliam1234 2y agoAs a parent in EU, I bought the reusable silicone straws, those are available and kids don't mind.
- cc81 2y agoPlastic straws come because the replacements tend to be bad (even if I assume they have gotten better over time).
- matthewdgreen 2y agoThe way to make their replacements even better over time is to discourage use of plastic. So this seems like a pretty good policy, even if there is a tiny bit of (the world’s most minor amount of) pain during the transition. We should ban more single-use plastic.
- aardvarkr 2y agoIn order to not go soggy so quickly many paper straws are pfas coated. Then this ends up in the environment.
- lukan 2y ago"We should ban more single-use plastic." We should ban more single-use non biodegradable plastic. I like the single use biodegradable plastic bag for example, where I can have the organic compost inside, so less mess everywhere. Those should be standard. But currently they are way more expensive. Standard plastic from oil is cheap.
- flurdy 2y agoI just buy a bunch of these biodegradable PLA straws instead. They work well https://amzn.eu/d/dKIyKxE https://amzn.eu/d/dKIyKxE. Not missed the old plastic straws apart from when at a burger joint that gives you the useless paper ones. The bagasse and PLA straws do not disintegrate as quickly and work as well as the old ones. Whether they are actually more environmentally friendly is another discussion.
- MrBuddyCasino 2y ago> it did end up in the ocean How would you feel if you didn’t have breakfast this morning?
- sirsinsalot 2y agoI order to not go soggy so quickly many paper straws are pfas coated. Then this ends up in the environment.
- wussboy 2y agoFfs please tell me you are joking
- edgyquant 2y agoBecause plastic straws are something that people run into frequently so when they are gone it’s very noticeable to everyone
- infecto 2y agoI don't think its a straw man so much as the alternatives to plastic straws are worse. One of those short-sighted policies that ends up being worse.
- MarkusWandel 2y agoPaper straws are some of the worst "greenwashing" I've ever seen. I most frequently encounter them for McDonalds drinks, where the cup and lid are solid plastic, but the straw whose weight (in plastic) would have been maybe 2-3% of the whole assembly has been replaced with something that invariably goes soggy before the drink is finished. Meanwhile at the grocery store I see boxes of... straws. As in, actual straw, the original material. Haven't encountered those in actual use yet, though.
- mschuster91 2y ago> The plastic straw that the EU just outlawed would never have ended up in the ocean. A significant amount of plastic straws and bottle caps actually did up at least in the rivers - a single look at how the Isar in Munich looks after a party summer night is enough evidence - and what enters the Isar, Danube or any other river will eventually end up in the ocean or get stuck in a major lake where it degrades, gets eaten by fish and then ends up in humans when we eat the fish. Metal bottle caps can at least be fished out by magnets and recycled, but there's no way to capture plastic particles yet. And that does not take into account all the plastics trash that gets shipped overseas to some piss poor Asian or African country, where it gets sorted, and all the refuse just gets dumped on some landfill where it eventually gets washed into the ocean by rainfall, or it gets incinerated where it creates absurdly toxic combustion products.