Zero Waste Enthusiastic
Fast food is a significant part of human life these days. But we need to be aware of the things we use while there. Almost all fast-food chains offer drinks with plastic straws. While convenient and easy to use, these plastic straws can cause pollution. But you can have some sustainable drinking partners – bamboo straws.
By switching to bamboo straws, you can lessen plastic use which contributes a lot to pollution. Bamboo straws are plant-based, fully compostable which makes them better than plastic straws that last 200 years in landfills.
If you want something that will help you save money while also practice your zero waste lifestyle, bamboo straws are the way to go. This reusable straw is not only good for many uses but also very safe to use because it is made with nary a chemical.
Problem with plastic straws
For so long, plastic straws are the norm for beverages in restaurants and other food establishments but this convenient drinking tool is simply too wasteful. There are more than 500,000,000 plastic straws thrown into landfills each year. Because of their disposable nature, many plastic straws thrown away lead to land and ocean pollution.
Plastic straws are problematic for many reasons:
Unrecyclable
Plastic straws are primarily made of polypropylene – which is not recyclable. These small strips of plastic can lay scattered and floating across beaches and waterways around the world.
Fatal to Animals
Given that most plastic straws can end up in the oceans and other waterways, marine animals are often the victims of these innocuous plastics. They are inhaling them, choke on them or ingest them, and get poisoned from all the chemicals in these straws. In fact, many animal species are in danger of extinction because of plastic straws and other plastic waste.
Risky to Human Health
Aside from endangering wildlife, using plastic straws can also risk your health. Plastic straws have BPA, a toxic chemical that can trigger several health problems, including cancer. When these plastics are heated, as is often the case when using them on hot beverages, they produce substances that can trigger carcinogens.
Plastic straw bans
Given all the harms from plastic straws, many countries and states have imposed plastic straw bans to reduce their usage.
Plastic straw bans first took effect in US states such as New York. Due to these bans, food establishments such as cafes and restaurants considered other types of straws to offer to their customers. These included bamboo straws.
What are bamboo straws?
Almost every day many use plastic straws because they are conveniently disposable. All without knowing that they can harm you and the environment. Bamboo straws are among the best alternatives for plastics straws.
Plant-based and organic
Made from bamboo, one of the best fast-growing plants, bamboo straws come from chemical-free production. Most importantly, they are zero waste because bamboo trees automatically regenerate after harvest. They also grow without needing interference or guidance from humans.
Safe to use
Unlike plastic straws which can leak chemicals into liquids, bamboo straws are very safe to use. They are naturally antimicrobial. And as long as you wash regularly after use, they are good to use many times without fear.
Reusable and washable
Bamboo straws are great for beverages of any temperature. They are durable because bamboo itself is a durable material, even for building and construction.
You can use a bamboo straw for as long as you maintain it with regular cleaning. You need to wash it and keep it dry to prevent any water build-up at the bottom of the straw.
They are also very easy to clean since most bamboo straw sets come with metal cleaner brushes to scrape and brush away the dust inside the bamboo straws. Ultimately, this would be a money-saver.
Pros and cons of using bamboo straws
Pros
- zero waste
- safe to use
- Can be used for hot and cold beverages
- Made from bamboo which grows naturally
- Chemical-free
- Reusable and washable
- Decompostable
- Money-saving
Cons
- At some point, you will need to replace them and compost your old straws
Bamboo straw compared to other straws
Many of us still use plastics straw, but there are different alternatives for the plastic straws. These are silicone straws, metal straws, and glass straws.
Bamboo straws vs Silicone Straws
Firstly, silicon straws are better than bamboo straws since they can bend without losing its shape. They are great for hot beverages. You can bring a silicon straw anywhere in any length fit that you want.
But while silicone straws are flexible and recyclable, they are not biodegradable – still a sort of hard plastic. So if you want to really go plastic-free, bamboo straw is the best. .
Bamboo straws vs Metal Straws
On the other hand, metal straws are also a great alternative for plastic straws since it is also reusable and durable and it can also be washed. But metal straws cannot be used in hot beverages since it can pick up temperature, also it cannot be used by those who have sensitive teeth since it can also pick up cold temperature by cold beverages. Just like silicon straws you cannot also see if it is clean inside since it is metal. In addition to that, it is also metal taste and it is also brittle on children’s teeth.
Hence, bamboo straws are also a best way to use than plastic straws since it is biodegradable, reusable and it is not expensive since it is natural and it is safe since it is chemical free. Though it is reusable it has limited life span, but the good thing is that it is biodegradable, it has woody taste when using and it is the hardest straw to clean since the hole is thin.
Bamboo straws vs Glass Straws
On the other hand, Glass straw can also be one of the alternatives since it is also reusable, it is easy to clean since you can see through it and also can be washed by using dishwasher. But glass straws are expensive and it is easily break since it is made of glass.
With this, we can see the different straws that we can use and also the different alternatives for using plastic straw. Each straw have different advantages and different advantages, we just have to observe the best alternative that can save our environment and can minimize the pollution.
Conclusion
As much as you can, break free from plastic. Including plastic straws. They harm you, wildlife and the environment by their disposable existence.
There are many fine alternative straws you can use such as bamboo straws, silicone straws, metal straws, and glass straws. In particular, we highly recommend you switch to bamboo straws. These are plant-based, organic, reusable, and washable drinking straws. What makes them the best straw is that you can help local communities from several tropical nations that make these straws from traditional methods.
Whatever you do, always choose to do sustainably.
