Poll of the Day > People against the plastic straw ban kinda suck

(+) Yeah! (+)

making single-use items out of plastic is a terrible, brain-dead decision. when you make a plastic straw, that carbon is gonna be shitty ass plastic for like a thousand years

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Straws are the only things that are plastic.

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why are people so against it? a few places here in town have switched to paper, and i don't see what the big whining point is with it, ok?
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zebatov posted...

Straws are the only things that are plastic.

no one said that?

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What happened to corn-based plastic? (PLA)

The only places I see using them are hipster restaurants like Panera.
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Aculo posted...

why are people so against it? a few places here in town have switched to paper, and i don't see what the big whining point is with it, ok?

Have you ever used a paper straw? It's complete ****.
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Straws work by suction so this is factually correct
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GRTooCool posted...

Aculo posted...

why are people so against it? a few places here in town have switched to paper, and i don't see what the big whining point is with it, ok?

Have you ever used a paper straw? It's complete ****.

It's not that bad unless you are drinking the same drink for like 2 hours
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GRTooCool posted...

Have you ever used a paper straw? It's complete ****

From my one time experience using a paper straw, they're okay until the wax coating no longer keep them dry. I think they're fine so long as one doesn't take too long to finish their drink nor want a refill for the road.

EvilMegas posted...

It's not that bad unless you are drinking the same drink for like 2 hours

^
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GRTooCool posted...

Have you ever used a paper straw?

Yeah, they make my coffee taste better.

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GRTooCool posted...

Aculo posted...

why are people so against it? a few places here in town have switched to paper, and i don't see what the big whining point is with it, ok?

Have you ever used a paper straw? It's complete ****.

how so? the ones i've used have seemed shockingly fine, ok?
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if only beverages could somehow be consumed without straws

Some kind of catapult?

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Mead posted...

if only beverages could somehow be consumed without straws

Some kind of catapult?

no! I need my sippy cup straws cause Im a giant selfish baby!!!!

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Restaurants and fast food places should sell reusable straws.

JoeDangIt posted...

Restaurants and fast food places should sell reusable straws.

Why?
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Eh... I dont like mybstraw to break down while using it... Ill use plastic. But I do re-use them, so whatever...
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As someone who doesn't give a fuck about the environment, I'll keep using my plastic straws and styrofoam cups, thank you.
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Of course they suck, that's what straws are for after all:)
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DirtBasedSoap posted...

Mead posted...

if only beverages could somehow be consumed without straws

Some kind of catapult?

no! I need my sippy cup straws cause Im a giant selfish baby!!!!

I'd rather not have a hand jerk happen and throw my drink all over myself.
(Some people need straws due to issues....)

ChaosAzeroth posted...

DirtBasedSoap posted...

Mead posted...

if only beverages could somehow be consumed without straws

Some kind of catapult?

no! I need my sippy cup straws cause Im a giant selfish baby!!!!

I'd rather not have a hand jerk happen and throw my drink all over myself.
(Some people need straws due to issues....)

My aunt was handicapped and needed straws to drink. She also couldnt drink by herself. She could eat, but barely...
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ChaosAzeroth posted...

DirtBasedSoap posted...

Mead posted...

if only beverages could somehow be consumed without straws

Some kind of catapult?

no! I need my sippy cup straws cause Im a giant selfish baby!!!!

I'd rather not have a hand jerk happen and throw my drink all over myself.
(Some people need straws due to issues....)

Lol totally made me think of Airplane. I have a drinking problem hehehe.
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DirtBasedSoap posted...

no one said that?

Its literally the smallest piece of plastic that you might frequently use. Have you tried to drink a slurpee through a cardboard straw? Its awful.

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LinkPizza posted...

My aunt was handicapped and needed straws to drink. She also couldnt drink by herself. She could eat, but barely...

I'm not quite that bad off, just functional enough to do basic self care and some extra depending. (Basic cooking, some cleaning, that sort of thing. Varies from day to day.) Some days I can hardly pull myself out of bed, especially when I have pain spikes and the first 2 hours or so of waking up are pure misery. Other days not so bad.

Some days I'm tremor free, some days my hands just do whatever they want and will suddenly clench super hard or just let go too.

I'm just counting my blessings on not having to drink thick water. I'm not shaming people who have to, it just seems miserable and I couldn't do it.

Call me weird but I don't think I've even seen a paper straw before. Had to google some images.

I dont think any of the straw bans have actually made straws illegal, you can still have your own

its just that some businesses wont carry them

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i used a paper straw for the first time last week. it was shit. i'd rather have a glass straw lul.
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ssj4supervegeta posted...

i'd rather have a glass straw lul.

Never heard of glass. I've heard of metal.
Seems like a pain to clean to me if you drink certain things.

I have thought about asking for some metal ones though. I'd probably forget to bring one with me though. lol

I remember seeing an ad of something for these metal straws. And they came apart so you could clean them easier. I guess I could get a couple of those. And just carry some around with me...
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LinkPizza posted...

And they came apart so you could clean them easier.

I've actually never seen that, just full metal tube ones. Huh.

LinkPizza posted...

I remember seeing an ad of something for these metal straws. And they came apart so you could clean them easier. I guess I could get a couple of those. And just carry some around with me...

I have some but never used them since I always drink from a bottle.

Mine don't come apart but they came with a tube brush used for cleaning.
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My bad. Its plastic, but re-usable. Its a kickstarter. Or was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQcfBLkukQ8" data-time="
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DirtBasedSoap posted...

when you make a plastic straw, that carbon is gonna be shitty ass plastic for like a thousand years

Did you want to do something else with that carbon?

Yellow posted...

What happened to corn-based plastic? (PLA)

The corn also contained carbon, I guess.
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ChaosAzeroth posted...

LinkPizza posted...

And they came apart so you could clean them easier.

I've actually never seen that, just full metal tube ones. Huh.

My girlfriend picked up a couple that are made up of four metal segments with a silicone tube running through them, allowing them to be folded up for storage. I haven't tried them out yet, since I pretty rarely use a straw for anything, but they seem pretty nifty.

zebatov posted...

Straws are the only things that are plastic.

On one hand, yeah, straws are a tiny drop in the ocean that is the world's plastic problem, and the people that act like they're accomplishing anything meaningful by latching on to that while not doing anything else are kidding themselves. On the other hand, straws are nonetheless part of the plastic problem, and really fairly easy to stop using (for the fully-abled), so there's no reason not to get on board with the effort to cut down on their use. It's just important to also keep generating demand for other plastic reduction strategies on top of that, rather than resting on one's laurels after buying a reusable straw.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/world/europe/metal-straws-death.html
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It's all about perspective on this one. Plastics do last forever, however paper is actually more energy and water costly to produce.
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Straws are for children anyway. Drink your drink like a goddamn adult

Blaqthourne posted...

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/world/europe/metal-straws-death.html

My co-worker was talking about this today when I mentioned this topic...

Also, had to log in to see article...
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OhhhJa posted...

Straws are for children anyway. Drink your drink like a goddamn adult

Straws have their uses. I may not use them for all drinks. But I do use them for some...
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LinkPizza posted...

OhhhJa posted...

Straws are for children anyway. Drink your drink like a goddamn adult

Straws have their uses. I may not use them for all drinks. But I do use them for some...

Why csnt you just drink from the glass? And in the case of a thick smoothie or something just use a spoon

shadowsword87 posted...

It's all about perspective on this one. Plastics do last forever, however paper is actually more energy and water costly to produce.

I doubt thats actually true considering the energy and resources involved in oil refinement and transportation that results in the byproducts used to create most industrial plastics

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One thing I'm sure of is that the government and corporations are laughing at us arguing over our use of straws while they rape the fuck out of the earth

Mead posted...

I doubt thats actually true considering the energy and resources involved in oil refinement and transportation that results in the byproducts used to create most industrial plastics

So, transportation is a pretty moot argument because you still gotta move the wood and the paper. Changing the source and the destination, unless it's pretty significant. The straws are still going to sit in a warehouse and then go to McDonalds or whatever.

As for the energy argument, here's the most bias-free thing I could find that wasn't literally plastics.americanchemistry.com:
https://www.appropedia.org/HSU_straw_analysis
And here's a convent chart:
https://www.appropedia.org/images/c/c6/LastStraw_BuybackEE.PNG

I do agree though on waste byproduct though, plastics are completely awful.

My argument is that it's not a simple X Bad, Remove X that everyone thinks.
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OhhhJa posted...

LinkPizza posted...

OhhhJa posted...

Straws are for children anyway. Drink your drink like a goddamn adult

Straws have their uses. I may not use them for all drinks. But I do use them for some...

Why csnt you just drink from the glass? And in the case of a thick smoothie or something just use a spoon

Drinking from the glass is usually fine. Especially at home. But ice can cause problems sometimes, depending on the type. Also, while in a car, bumps can cause spills. And using a straw makes it a little safer to drink while doing something else. Like walking. Or being able to take a quick sip while driving. And wont obscure you view with the rest of the cup.

For thick smoothies, drinking is more preferable than using a spoon. Why punish myself by using a spoon when a straw makes much more sense? Its suppose to be a treat. Not work...
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LinkPizza posted...

Also, while in a car, bumps can cause spills.

I get a giant coffee every morning before work. I generally just drink a big gulp immediately so it's not full to the brim

OhhhJa posted...

LinkPizza posted...

Also, while in a car, bumps can cause spills.

I get a giant coffee every morning before work. I generally just drink a big gulp immediately so it's not full to the brim

It depends on the cup. With an close lid like on most coffees, its not as big a deal. With open lids, it can be worst. Though, I was mostly talking about taking a sip as a passenger, and then hitting a bump while the passenger is drinking. A spill can occur. Though, depending on how big the bump was, or an unexpected pothole, a spill can occur from a cup in the holder even if the cup was full...

Also, some people make not like to immediately take a gulp of scalding hot coffee before heading to wherever...
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LinkPizza posted...

OhhhJa posted...

LinkPizza posted...

Also, while in a car, bumps can cause spills.

I get a giant coffee every morning before work. I generally just drink a big gulp immediately so it's not full to the brim

It depends on the cup. With an close lid like on most coffees, its not as big a deal. With open lids, it can be worst. Though, I was mostly talking about taking a sip as a passenger, and then hitting a bump while the passenger is drinking. A spill can occur. Though, depending on how big the bump was, or an unexpected pothole, a spill can occur from a cup in the holder even if the cup was full...

Also, some people make not like to immediately take a gulp of scalding hot coffee before heading to wherever...

Ahhh that's why I get cold brew. But also hot coffee generally comes with those lids with the tiny opening

But also does anyone drink hot coffee with a straw? Lol

TC is ignorant of people with special needs. Simple as that.
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OhhhJa posted...

LinkPizza posted...

OhhhJa posted...

LinkPizza posted...

Also, while in a car, bumps can cause spills.

I get a giant coffee every morning before work. I generally just drink a big gulp immediately so it's not full to the brim

It depends on the cup. With an close lid like on most coffees, its not as big a deal. With open lids, it can be worst. Though, I was mostly talking about taking a sip as a passenger, and then hitting a bump while the passenger is drinking. A spill can occur. Though, depending on how big the bump was, or an unexpected pothole, a spill can occur from a cup in the holder even if the cup was full...

Also, some people make not like to immediately take a gulp of scalding hot coffee before heading to wherever...

Ahhh that's why I get cold brew. But also hot coffee generally comes with those lids with the tiny opening

Yeah. And closed lids are pretty good. And you can usually drink without any spillage. But open ones are worse. Plus, using a straw to drink can help a lot. Depending on what you are doing, it can keep your hands free. Also, it wont obscure you vision with the cup. And you can (more safety) do certain things while drinking. Like driving, walking, etc. And shouldnt have to worry about spills from ice or liquids. Whether its from falling out to fast, or from a kids pulling on your shirt unexpectedly, or from a bump in the road by whoever was driving, etc. Again, a straw isnt (always) needed, but it can be a big help. And recommended in certain situations.
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