I’m probably not the only person who never realized what a serious crime against the environment it is to use plastic drinking straws. As someone who sipped far too many after-school cherry Cokes through thin paper straws at Long’s Restaurant in the 50s and 60s, I was just happy to finally have a straw that wouldn’t disintegrate before I slurped up the last drops of my chocolate milkshake. We’ve now come to realize that those convenient plastic straws are killing wildlife and polluting the environment. What’s a person to do? The answer is simple; invest in some inexpensive, reusable stainless steel drinking straws. Stainless steel straws may not be practical for commercial use in restaurants or bars. I did receive a strong, heavy-duty paper straw for my Coke at a restaurant recently and it held up well. Paper is a renewable resource and recyclable so paper straws also make sense.
Drinking straws are a part of my daily routine which means I’m guilty of tossing a lot of plastic into the garbage. I sip water through a drinking straw throughout the day. When driving, I always have an insulated container of water in the cup holder of my console. I prefer to drink through a straw so I’m not obscuring my vision by tipping a cup up in front of my face while driving. Even when I’m sipping my Timmie’s steeped tea in the car I use a straw for the same reason. I do realize eating and drinking are not recommended while operating a vehicle but water, tea or Diet Coke are my preferred fuel while on the road, particularly on long trips.
Today I test-drove my first stainless steel drinking straw in my insulated cup of water and it worked great. Metal is, however, a conductor and the straw will be colder or hotter in your mouth than a plastic one, depending on the beverage you’re drinking. In fact, drinking Timmie’s tea through a stainless steel straw is probably safer than risking the possible carcinogenic effects of drinking a hot beverage through plastic.
I purchased a set of eight straws 10.5 inches long to accommodate a variety of beverage container sizes; four of the straws were bent for easier use. They’re slightly narrower than most plastic straws but I didn’t want to get the really fat smoothie style. The package even contained two long, skinny brushes for cleaning. I ordered them on-line when I couldn’t find them in the store and they arrived the next day with my Amazon Prime service. I’m trying to do my bit to mitigate damage to the environment.
