It’s hard to believe the humble drinking straw has become Public Enemy No. 1, but here we are. As it turns out, the permanent existence of billions of disposable-yet-indelible straws is a growing environmental concern. Single-use plastic drinking straws are polluting beaches, clogging up inland waterways, and destroying ocean ecosystems.
A 2017 study published in
Science Advances magazine revealed that upwards of 8.3
billion plastic straws currently
pollute beaches around the world. That’s more than the one straw per person on the entire planet. One estimate puts the number of disposable straws used (and then trashed) at
500 million per day.
There may soon come a time when these ubiquitous drinking aids are as hard to find as an ice cube in France, with cities,
major companies, and
small businesses alike enforcing disposable straw bans. But some critics consider the recent attention on straws an
outsized reaction given that plastic straws comprise less than 1% of the total amount of plastic waste.
But what if you really love a straw? And what if you or a loved one needs to use straws because of physical or developmental limitations? What’s an environmentally-conscious consumer to do?
Enter the “sustainable” straw. These (more) environmentally friendly, reusable drinking tools are now
sold widely, but deciding which type to try can feel daunting. Do you go silicone? Stainless steel?
Both at the same time?
There's a lot to consider when it comes to something as mundane as getting liquids into your body.
You still have to consider the environment
Picking the right option goes beyond your preferred drinking style. If you're motivated by a desire to put at least a tiny dent in the breathtaking amount of plastic waste, you should consider the life cycle and production process of your reusable straw choice. Hard plastic reusable straws, for example, are only marginally more environmentally friendly than disposable varieties. They aren’t ever going to decompose; the manufacturing process is
environmentally problematic.
Silicone is widely considered a better environmental choice than plastic, but it is not biodegradable and its manufacture requires non-renewable energy sources like natural gas and oil. It can be recycled, but you’ll need to seek out a suitable facility near you or, more likely, use a mail service like
TerraCycle.
Stainless steel products are also a big step ahead of plastics, but alas, they're not perfect either. Though stainless steel is technically biodegradable, that process
can take centuries depending on various climate factors. But it is recyclable, so when it’s finally time for your stainless steel straw to move on to greener pastures, just recycle it as you would any other metal. Today’s stainless straw is tomorrow’s
washing machine drum.
Even considering the limitations, reusable straws last much, much longer than their wimpy plastic counterparts. If it’s true that the average person uses over
60,000 disposable straws between the ages of 5 and 65, the impact of an increasing number of people turning to reusable versions quickly becomes clear.
In an attempt to sort through the many reusable straws on offer, I put five different products — all priced under $20 for 5-10 straws — through a durability and use test. I tried bending the stainless steel varieties and tying the silicone straws into pretty bows to see if they’d split. I shoved them indiscriminately into the dishwasher, realistically anticipating the future. I even allowed my straw-obsessed kitten to carry a few off to his secret hiding place. On the durability front, all the varieties held up well. I also tried drinking various liquids from each type of straw; generally, they all fit the suckability bill just fine, with a few caveats.