By Dominique Gilbert, Christina Gold, Zachary Greening, Noa Hechtman, Jacob Wolfe
It’s getting more popular than ever for one to use reusable straws. With the increasing concern with climate change and the increasing impact of pollution, sustainable living has seen a surge in popularity. If you don’t know, sustainable living is a lifestyle where an individual chooses to integrate products that are reusable/ eco-friendly and uses techniques that reduces wastefulness and resources used to complete everyday tasks.
The transition from plastic straws to reusable straws is one of the easiest (and thus most popular) ways in which people have integrated reusable and sustainable habits into their lives. Plastic straws, a tool first created to aid disabled people with consuming liquids, it has now become ingrained into American society for plastic straws to be readily available at eateries and grocery stores for everyone to use.
One might ask, what’s the harm of using plastic straws? Well, not much if it was just a singular straw, however, that is not the case. In 2018, USA Today reported that more than 500 million plastic straws were used every day in the United States.
In this case (which is our reality), there is a lot of harm with plastic straws. Many of us have seen the viral videos of sea turtles with straws up their nose. It is a gut wrenching sight to see an innocent animal crying in pain because of the pollution we have caused. Though a relatively low percentage in the overall large scale of pollution in the United States, it is still a problem that has caused harm to our environment and organisms.
As previously stated, using reusable straws is the easiest way to integrate sustainability into one’s lifestyle. They allow people to still be able to easily sip their drink while avoiding the guilt of contributing to America’s evergrowing plastic waste. I have had the privilege of trying a few different types of reusable straws from metal, paper, to even silicone ones. My college, Florida Gulf Coast University, has had a large play in that. Going to an environmentally conscious institution, they are always looking for ways to get students the tools needed to jumpstart a sustainable lifestyle. Some of those ways have been handing out metal and silicone straw kits at events.
From the straws that I have tried, I currently don’t have a definitive favorite. I like to say, finding the perfect reusable straw is like finding the perfect pen and unfortunately, I haven’t found my favorite pen yet. Like anything else you try, it has its pros and its cons. Some straws (personally), have more cons than others, while others (personally), have more pros than others.
I know that there are a lot of people who have not yet tried reusable straws either because they can’t, or because they are afraid to waste their money on something they’ll end up not liking. Because of that, I’m going to go through the reusable straws that I have tried, list a brief description of it, and list the pros and cons of it. At the end of the day, you can decide which straw is right for you.
Metal
The metal ones were the most physically appealing to me. Matching an “aesthetic” if you will, of being the quintessential sustainable person. However, even with the appealing exterior appearance and feel, it was the taste that mattered the most. After washing it (always wash your metal and silicone straws first!), I used it to drink a smoothie. It was a smoothie that I had purchased dozens of times prior so I knew how it should taste in case it was off. Turns out, I was right to do so. Combining with the cold temperature of the smoothie and the metallic aftertaste from the straw, it made for an extremely unpleasant experience. Even after rinsing out the straw again in case there was any leftover soap residue, the aftertaste still lingered.
However, I found a set of metal straws at my local Marshalls with silicone covering the tip. That straw was way better than the first straw I had! The silicone took away from any metallic aftertaste, yet still allowed for easy sipping.
Pros:
- Reusable
- Easy to wash
- Appealing look
- Thin shape
- Easy to purchase
Cons:
- Metallic aftertaste (with the straw without the silicone tip)
- Not good with cold drinks
Paper Straws
My first experience with them came from a Starbucks in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was quite surprised to see that instead of placing a plastic one in my drink, there was a cupful of paper ones. The straws were thick (not too thick though!), easy to use, and did not alter the drinking experience compared to other reusable straws. However, with these, you are unable to reuse these. I think this is doubly true if you use the straw to drink a smoothie or any other kind of thick drink. I would say use these straws sparingly as they are lacking the reusability factor compared to the other straws.
Pros:
- Easy to purchase
- Thin shape
- Didn’t affect taste
Cons:
- Can’t be reused
- Might get soggy with a large drink
Silicone Straws
These straws are ones I have seen become quickly popular. Spotted at campus events, farmers markets, and even available for free samples at some places, they seem to be cheap and easily accessible to both businesses and consumers. However, no matter the convenience, it is the usability that matters the most. Compared to plastic and metal straws, silicone straws are at least two times as wide.
These are easy to wash and easy to transport. Unlike with metal straws, silicone straws typically are not accompanied by a straw cleaner. However, these are usually wider than metal straws so to clean them, I simply drizzle soap down one of the ends and make sure to focus on wiping down both ends of the straw. I think these work great with smoothies because it is so wide and doesn’t get affected by the coldness of the drink.
Pros:
- Easy to clean
- Easy to purchase
- Good with cold drinks
- Doesn’t change the taste
Cons:
- Odd fit with most drink covers
- Not great with hot drinks
- Hard to get the bends out
I hope you guys found this very helpful and useful when you are trying to pick up your first reusable straw.
Sources:
Group 3 Colloquium 