A few years ago, a viral video of a straw being dislodged from a turtle’s bloody nose garnered support for a movement to ban, or at least replace, plastic straws. Although convenient, plastic straws are made of polypropylene, which cannot be recycled, which means that an unfathomable amount of straws are thrown away daily. As a result, many eco-conscious alternatives have appeared, such as the reusable stainless steel, glass, and bamboo straws, and paper straws, which can be composted. 

There has been discourse over the effectiveness of “sustainable” straw swaps, but after calculating the energy used, carbon dioxide produced, and cost of each type of straw, it is clear that there are, in fact, many smart ways to reduce the amount of plastic we are wasting.

A plastic straw requires 27.2 kilojoules of energy and produces 1.46 grams of carbon dioxide. This is actually less than the reusable straws, but clearly, since those are being used over and over again, plastic straws can surpass reusable ones in waste produced. Bamboo straws require 754 kJ of energy and produce 38.8 g of CO2, glass straws require 1,105 kilojoules of energy and produce 652 g of CO2, and stainless steel straws requires the most energy, 2,420 kilojoules, and produce 217 g of CO2.  Although these numbers are significantly higher than traditional plastic straws, they can be thrown in the dishwasher with the rest of the load and reused many times, and they are much less likely to end up in the landfill or the ocean. Although 100% of plastic straws are thrown away, only 3% of stainless steel straws were estimated to be thrown out after 5 years of their purchase; they are being washed and reused multiple times, and certainly be overtaken by plastic straws in energy required or carbon emissions produced. 

However, it is not reasonable to expect these reusable straws to be offered at public places such as restaurants or cafes. Instead, paper straws can be used. A paper straw requires 15.1 kilojoules of energy and produces 1.38 G of CO2, of which both figures are less than that of plastic straws. in addition, they can be composted after use. That being said, they are notably more expensive than  plastic straws, which are sold for .3 cents when purchased by the pallet, whereas paper straws are sold by the case for 4 cents each.

The price disparity continues for reusable straws, but since they can be reused, it is just an investment that can be regained over time. While the plastic straws are sold for .3 cents each, stainless steel ones are sold for 26 cents each, and glass straws can be found at 32 cents each. Additionally, the figure used for plastic straws is derived from an order of 12,000 straws, whereas the stainless steel straws were from an order of only 1,000 straws. Also available are bamboo straws, sold at $1.29 each when bought per 100.

Overall, plastic straws should be eliminated as the status quo sooner rather than later. It’s not a difficult replacement, and with exception to those with sensory issues or other needs that require a plastic straw, more people should adopt these sustainable strawlternatives. Below is a graph that displays when reusable straws bypass plastic straws as the best option.

I have heard many arguments over non-plastic straws in the past, so I decided to do some research and definitively discover what the best options are. I’d heard early on that steel straws were worse than plastic unless they’re used a bajillion times, so I haven’t bought any myself; I’ve just gotten them from surplus stores or as gifts from others. However, I had even heard that reusable straws are worse than plastic because of the energy and water required to wash them. I couldn’t find any evidence to support or counter that argument; I guess it hadn’t gained much popularity, but it doesn’t make sense to me either way. It does not cost any extra to the environment if you add a straw to a dishwasher you are already going to run. I’ve never not had room for straws, let alone to the extent of running the dishwasher solely for them.

Speaking of not finding evidence, this article wasn’t an easy one to write. I had put off writing it for a while since I’d suspected that I wouldn’t be able to find a lot of data on the subject, but I’d seriously underestimated the task. I spent nearly two hours just looking for articles that gave any sort of figures for the data of any type of straw, including paper. I was on my last straw (haha) when I found a Cal Poly Humboldt study that gave me most of the information I desired.

I learned a lot from this one! I had kind of forgotten about glass straws, but they really are a fantastic alternative to plastic straws, and they’re gorgeous. There are even ones you can get with little glass designs on them like a flower or, of course, a turtle.

Anyways, I’m really glad I did this one. Thanks for sticking around, and stay tuned to learn with me!

https://www.appropedia.org/HSU_straw_analysis#Plastic_Straws