Frazz by Jef Mallett for July 13, 2018

Which one will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back?

My two cents is that restaurants should not give people straws automatically; they should just make them available. Most people don’t even use them.

Our recycler doesn’t take straws. I never use one even when the server brings one; typically I see them adding it to the trash.

It’s going to be a “while” before they have the last straw. Fastfood joints seems to use them en masse. Have no use for them myself.

In the ‘70s we stopped using plastic straws because we were killing too many trees. I don’t use straws because I can drink stuff without them; like an adult.

I’m glad they are moving toward paper straws….it’s still nice to have a straw but there is no reason they have to be plastic. The two times we ate out this week, we left the straws wrapped, on the table and just picked up the glass. Trying to do our part….

Sippy Cups are the answer!

Straws do have a useful purpose. One is that cold beverages usually have ice in them, and the ice hitting my teeth can sometimes be painful. Another is that, if you’re drinking from a cup with a lid on it, like at the movies or in your car, the straw comes in very handy.

Delis hand you a straw with a bottle of soda that’s taller than the straw, so it isn’t even practical to use.

Does it really average out to more than one a day for every human being? That doesn’t seem to make sense.

Yeah, straws became a pet issue like a month ago so any heathen who uses them still could only be doing it because they are lazy eyeroll. Clearly Jef doesn’t have a mustache.

Don’t know if Jef did the math in his head (doubt it with the Imperial system) but I get 15782 miles when I do the calculation.

15783 miles if you round off properly…

Multiple daily straw users also include small children and adults in restaurants, hospital and home bound patients, medical labs, movies goers, people who eat in parks or offices, and many others. So while that daily waste figure might seem high, it is not impossible.

While I don’t use a straw a day, sometimes only a couple a week(or less) but I DO use them when in restaurants. It is just a clean thing with me, it creeps me out to not use one. My own house, yes, I can drink from a glass like a big girl. When push comes to shove I’ll be one of those people carrying my own metal straw in my purse.

I remember using paper straws. They would collapse after a few minutes and forget about the X type cup lids. There are times when straws are a must! I remember not being steady enough after surgery to drink from a cup without one.

How did they get a half a billion straws?

The kicker is very few fast food restaurants try to recycle their plastics. Those that do soon find their recycle bins filled with wrappers, soda cups and other restaurant trash…

Starbuck’s solution to replace the straws with drink-through lids backfired! The new lids contain more plastic than the old lid-straw combination.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/32992/starbucks-solution-replace-plastic-straws-hank-berrien

Tell that to the quadriplegic

Seattle recently banned plastic straws and I believe other cities are looking at doing the same. The solution is easy, just don’t use one.

for what it’s worth???

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jul/12/plastic-straw-bans-wont-save-oceans-alarm-disabled/

Actually it would be 15,782.828 miles.

I’ve never been served a straw with a beer. Drink more beer.

I believe this is referring to the issue Michigan is having with littered beaches. The food/drink litter left on the beach instead of in the available trash cans was ridiculous over the recent holiday. https://www.cleanwateraction.org/2017/05/24/just-say-no-straws

Plastic bendy straws were invented to help the disabled drink liquid. While I agree that people who don’t need straws, or who can use an alternative, should do so, banning something that some people need to live is cruel. Just have non-disabled people cut down on usage.

The reality for me, is I happen to like drinking from a straw. I tend to find Caulfield’s statement rather imbecilic and rude. Just because he does not like straws (or perhaps more likely he is the alter-ego for Jef, who does not like straws), does not mean he should denigrate others who happen to like to use them. Unfortunately, the rather harsh tone of Caulfield today happens quite (too) often for his character.

Now, the use of plastics in straws is a problem. But, there are solutions that allow folks who like straws to use them. Many were mentioned already…. the metal straw, the paper straw. But, the one that I think will win out and hopefully be widely adopted is the biodegradable, "plant-based "plastic"" straw. These types of straws, when designed well, will biodegrade after use in a matter of a week or two.

Plastic straws are a big problem in coastal areas. They get in the water and on the beach, animals eat them, and the plastic clogs up their guts. There’s a very simple solution, which is going back to paper straws (I was probably at least eight years old before I saw a plastic straw). The paper straws degrade very quickly in the water or on the beach, so they aren’t much of a problem. There are also natural alternatives (hollow plant stems) for those who want them.

Fake statistic, based on “research” a guy did when he was NINE years old. Never confirmed. Just accepted because it fits the eco “narrative.”

No. Sorry. https://reason.com/blog/2018/07/12/starbucks-straw-ban-will-see-the-company?utm_medium=email

l have no hands so straws are a must

More facts, not emotion: https://cei.org/blog/five-reasons-banning-plastics-may-harm-environment-and-consumers

I didn’t see any comments regarding health codes…as a worker at a restaurant, we must use a cup with a lid and a straw to drink with. Otherwise, saliva can run down the cup or glass, and contaminate your hands. How are the states that are outlawing straws contending with this? Just curious…

I use straws a lot, and it has nothing to do with laziness. If you like cold drinks with ice, straws are a must, because drinking the regular way means you get a face full of ice and your drink spilled on your lap. Additionally, if you get covered cups (e.g., for use while driving), a straw is the best way to access the drink without exposing it to spillage.

I bought some metal straws from Amazon a few years ago. They came with a pipe cleaner so you can thoroughly wash them out after every use. I drink my iced coffee with a straw to help prevent staining my teeth too badly. Also, it’s less messy using a straw especially since I usually drink my coffee or soda while working on my laptop. Open containers and laptops have never been a good combo for me.

The real solution, I believe, all around is that the biodegradable, plant-based “plastics” are needed for ALL sorts of food handling applications to decrease the heavy use on petroleum based plastics. The extreme persistence of petroleum based plastics in all their renditions is the BIG problem for a whole helluva lot of the pollution we face. Technology in the manufacture and production of plant-based “plastics” that are readily biodegradable is now sufficient to replace virtually all short-term, food based container uses now housed in petrochemical based plastic. Longer term storage (aka months) in this form of biodegradable plastics… that is still something we are not quite able to do yet.

Oh good grief! This is what people have to worry about?

I find a drink far more satisfying in moderate-sized “gulps” from a cup or glass than sipping through a straw or even directly from a bottle or can. I don’t always carry a cup or glass with me, but I haven’t used a straw in decades.