They’ve been banned at national parks for quite a few years. They explain to you why they don’t serve straws at restaurants.
My doctor told me that using straws could be bad for my GERD because it could cause air to get in and make me burp. I generally sip now and only use straws for iced coffee. My entire family orders our drinks without ice and I don’t use ice at home. I felt completely at ease in Europe and oddly uncomfortable down South when I ask for no ice in my soft drinks.
The environmental argument makes me even more interested in not using straws. We did have the stainless steel ones for a long time but I don’t really see a need for them now in our house.
I’ve never seen a stainless steel straw, but wouldn’t that have the same issues with temperature as drinking directly at the ice? And no, I don’t want to spend any of my day washing out a straw with a little tiny brush! I’m willing to look for the paper ones in the store.
I keep the SS straws in a water bottle (tall and not frivolous for water use) with a little detergent and bleach. Smoothies are not your friend if they are not quickly cleaned, but this works fine for us. The brush lives close by for a quick swish. My people just grab from the bottle, rinse and use. I change the water at some point in the day.
I rarely use straws but am just as happy without ice or drinking carefully so I don’t splash myself from the huge ice cube that is many of the small ones combined. For takeout, we ask for a cup and drink water most of the time. H does like drinks with straws at takeout.
Paper straws taste weird to me. I have reusable plastic straws for my lidded drink cups, and a straw cleaner. The straw cleaner sits in a holder with the bottle brush, dish scrubber, and scrub daddy, by the sink.
I have this one: https://www.google.com/shopping/product/2742781694048079092?lsf=seller:7815,store:14659814441036802029&prds=oid:7868005520239455241&q=straw+cleaner&hl=en-us&ei=L_VXWfqbH8Lr-QGu0qfABQ&lsft=gclid:Cj0KCQjwkN3KBRCuARIsADT_flr6SCkoOZ2HBxeUeJBkP79q57CCVdwY27hfgzZQe0MomgKDsexWYZ4aAp33EALw_wcB
I don’t drink sodas, so not an issue.
Stainless steel straws can hurt a child’s upper palate and throat if they fall on it.
Awhile back one of the fast food places had to stop serving straws that were not bendable.
Straws aren’t just for sodas, right? How much water is used to wash out these reusable straws? Trade offs for everything.
Just wanted to say I found a straw on the ground while walking the dog this morning and made sure to pick it up and throw it in the garbage.
I live in a beach community and there is a serious effort to get the restaurants and bars to convert to paper straws or at least not give them out unless asked for. The plastic cups are also a huge issue with marine life.
Why does one need a straw in drinks with ice?
^^So the ice doesn’t flop up and land on your shirt or in your face while your drinking the drink! Ah, yes, lids. Aren’t they as much plastic as the straws?
^That doesn’t happen to me when I drink ice drinks. It’s not being plastic. It’s the shape of a plastic straw that causes problems with wild life. Zoos around here have banned straws as long as I can remember.
The prettiest girl I ever saw was sippin cider through a straw. But otherwise I rarely use them. I initially thought this thread was about seeding lawns and then spreading straw over the seeded area. Oh, that straw.
I use straws solely for takeout iced coffee so the ice won’t clink against my teeth and cause coffee to run down my chin. Not giving that up. Our town’s recycling web page advises to include straws in our single stream recycling bins, so I bring them home, rinse them off (along with the plastic cup and lid), and bin 'em, religiously. I assume if they meant only paper straws, they would have said so–bedsides paper straws can’t really be cleaned off, and I know food residue is not welcome in recycling bins. My conscience is clear. On that score, anyway…
Timely article. I’ve been looking for reusable straws and managed to find some plastic reusable ones that came with a long pipe cleaner. They are said to be top rack dishwasher safe, but I don’t see the inside getting cleaned from that.
I love ice in my water or Diet Coke (not a coffee drinker.). Loads of ice. It keeps the drink cold and I’m getting more fluid that way - diluting the Coke is one of the perks, IMO. Just made the best purchase a cold drink lover could make - a Yeti cup. Pricey but that ice stays solid for hours in a hot car, or overnight sitting on a kitchen counter.
One thing I can do when I have plastic straws to dispose is to cut them into short pieces. I’ll just add that to my solid waste management duties. Small enough price to pay, if it helps.
When I was a kid, a lot of straws were made of paper with a red or green stripe. But now the paper straws taste weird. Did they forget how to make them, or did I forget that the 1960s paper straws also tasted weird?
@lefthandofdog I’ve heard great things about Yeti products. With the Yeti cup, I assume a straw isn’t even needed or is it?
I use a straw with my Yeti tumbler. It still is easier to drink while driving or at work.