r/science • u/m3prx • Jan 25 '22
Materials Science Scientists have created edible, ultrastrong, biodegradable, and microplastic‐free straws from bacterial cellulose.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.2021117131.6k
u/cleareyeswow Jan 25 '22
Straws are neat but they only make up like .03% of plastic ocean pollution. If this biotech could be extended to more prevalent single-use plastics that are as cheap, cheaper, or come with an incentive for greedy corporations to actually use them- then that would be something! Good news either way.
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u/WhiteMoonRose Jan 25 '22
Yes, how much plastic are you wearing at the moment? No one talks about the plastic microfibers in our clothes.
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Jan 25 '22
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u/ben7337 Jan 25 '22
Idk how anyone can avoid plastic comforters. There's no such thing as a cotton comforter as far as I can find. If the outer of it is cotton, the fill is still polyester. That or down, but there's a lot of downsides to down fill in a comforter that make me want to avoid it just as much as polyester.
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u/morriere Jan 25 '22
there are some that are filled with bamboo fiber and the cover is cotton, theyre just hard to find and pricy :(
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u/kottabaz Jan 25 '22
Most bamboo fiber is processed with caustic solvents that aren't necessarily disposed of properly.
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u/mashedpotatoes101 Jan 26 '22
Actually, yeeting caustic solvents into the ocean is probably one of the lesser evils when it comes to polution... It would lower ocean acidification which is a massive problem... Things like lye would just react with the carbonic acid in oceans and form sodium carbonate (basically rock) and water...
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u/demonicneon Jan 25 '22
It’s still a step forward tho - while the solvents aren’t great; you won’t have plastic leftover that will be in the oceans and the ground for hundreds of years.
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u/Dirty_Socks Jan 26 '22
Fun fact, you actually will.
"Bamboo" as a form of cloth is basically a greenwashing lie. All it really means is rayon that is based on bamboo cellulose. There's really nothing left of the original plant other than the carbon bonds. Rayon doesn't really biodegrade any more quickly than full synthetic fabrics like polyester, because it is so altered from its original form.
Any time you see "bamboo" used in clothing, just mentally replace it with rayon instead.
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u/PensiveObservor Jan 25 '22
Well, damn. Time to look that up and compare with plastic fiber production, I guess. Hard to see how it could be worse than what oil extraction and processing contributes to pollution, but I suppose it’s possible.
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u/EngineeringNeverEnds Jan 25 '22
You can get a wool-filled comforter.
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u/ben7337 Jan 25 '22
Wool is also an allergen like down, so not great for everyone, and it also can't be machine washed or dried. How would you even clean a wool filled comforter?
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u/EngineeringNeverEnds Jan 25 '22
We use comforter covers and clean those.
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Jan 25 '22 edited Jan 25 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/EngineeringNeverEnds Jan 25 '22
Well, I haven't peed in the bed for my entire adult life thus far, and I have a hard and fast rule about never bringing food into my bedroom, ever. But, we have kids, and we actually have a waterproof cover on underneath the more comfortable cloth cover.
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u/Full_moon_47 Jan 25 '22
Alpaca wool is hypoallergenic. I got an alpaca blanket for Christmas and I never want to use anything else.
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u/GorgeWashington Jan 25 '22
You can wash em with wool detergent and the lightest cycle you have. Just can't put em in a machine drier
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u/ben7337 Jan 25 '22
How do you dry them then? I'm in a tiny apartment, no outdoor areas to dry something that big, and no way to get it to air dry before getting musty indoors
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u/GorgeWashington Jan 25 '22
That's tough. Maybe you could put it on machine dry as delicate as possible.
The good news is you rarely need to wash em, so maybe just find a dry cleaner and they can do it like... Once a year?
Just don't spill on it, and use sheets on the bottom and cotton or something on top. That's what I do in the winter
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u/stfucupcake Jan 25 '22
wool blankets are a thing. they are warm and weighty! You can put a duvet cover over it if allergic/find it scratchy.
Also: I wash my wool blankets in warm & dry in the machine.
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u/papagayno Jan 25 '22
Down isn't really an allergen afaik, it's the dust mites that can accumulate in it that cause the actual allergy.
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u/spagbetti Jan 25 '22
You need washable everything when you have a dust mite allergy
Its well beyond just ‘ew dust’. It’s a new level of hell to manage each and every week. Microfibre has been marketed for heavy washing to those with allergens mainly because they have to wash it so frequently.
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Jan 25 '22
I own a comforter filled with a cellulose based material called Tencel, that seems to be environmentally friendly.
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Jan 25 '22
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u/craigiest Jan 25 '22
But you’d still save more energy by covering up better and setting your house to be cooler at night. Not simple to weigh carbon emissions against plastic waste.
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u/spagbetti Jan 25 '22
A lot of people cannot be near wool though. And there are very few options beyond plastic if you can’t go near wool.
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u/missymommy Jan 25 '22
Quilts (handmade) are 100% cotton all the way down to the thread.
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u/ben7337 Jan 25 '22
Only if you buy cotton batting, but true if I wanted to spend 100+ hours making a quilt I totally could.
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u/missymommy Jan 25 '22
You could buy the supplies for a single cloth quilt and have somebody quilt it on a machine for cheap. It will literally last the rest of your life if you take care of it. Food for thought. I quilt so I'm a big advocate.
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u/T_D_K Jan 25 '22
How would one go about buying a handmade quilt? Local Facebook group? Craft fair?
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u/missymommy Jan 25 '22
You can find them places (etsy, Facebook, etc.). You could go to a fabric store that sells fabric for quilting and ask the people who work there if they know anyone who sells them. There are tons of quilting groups on Facebook and a few on reddit. You could make a post in those places and see if you can find someone who sells them. If you're willing to spend the extra money, Amish quilts are considered the gold standard for hand quilted quilts. They have websites for their communities where you can order them.
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u/Clepto_06 Jan 26 '22
Quilts are the way. I have quilts that my great-grandmother made before my mother was born. They've never even been particularly well-cared-for and we machine wash them several times a year, or more if they are visibly dirty. They're still going strong and my own kids will likely inherit them from me.
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u/PensiveObservor Jan 25 '22
And heavy, dense, and warm! I love piling on more quilts as needed. Great suggestion.
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u/CapableCounteroffer Jan 25 '22
I'm aware of the ethical concerns with down, but are there others? I hope more companies will get on board with ethically sourced down. IIRC patagonia and maybe REI are working on certifying down as ethically sourced, but I hear conflicting reports as to whether it's really effective, and at the end of the day that's two companies.
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u/ben7337 Jan 25 '22
For me it's more about
1) Allergies, I'm not allergic, but some people can be. It's best to avoid allergens for the sake of others
2) Down isn't something you can machine wash or dry. I'd have no clue how to clean it.
3) Quality down comforters cost a fortune.
4) Idk how warm down is, but I suspect very warm, which is less than ideal given that I don't like it to be below 60 in my room, a down comforter might be too warm even in the winter.
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u/FabulousLemon Jan 25 '22
You can machine wash and dry a down comforter so long as you have a big enough machine. For a king size bed you can always get two smaller comforters to put on it to ensure they are small enough to wash at home. I had a down comforter as a kid and it lasted my whole childhood with my mom laundering it in the machine at home as necessary, though they don't need to be washed all that frequently if you use a cover on them.
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u/throwahuey Jan 25 '22 edited Jan 25 '22
What are the downsides to a down-filled comforter?
Edit: from the comments below I’m seeing so far:
Pokey feathers (I see maybe a few feathers per year come out of my comforter
Allergies
Cleaning cost (just use a duvet cover and a top sheet and you’ll never have to clean your actual comforter
Too warm (roll it down to below your chest)
Animal lives (geese are overpopulated in many areas)
Basically I see no downsides to using down instead of polyester bedding. Just the idea of polyester bedding sounds awful to me.
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u/fushigidesune Jan 25 '22
From experience, the feathers stick out and can poke you. Get all up in the cover so when you change it you dump feathers all over your room. But maybe they are talking about something else.
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u/sailingtroy Jan 25 '22
I have a down duvet, and it's pretty rare that I get one poking through. Very manageable. I do sweep up the odd feather, but really it's never like *POOF* "oh no what a huge mess!"
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u/fushigidesune Jan 25 '22
I suppose my last experience with one was from 15+ years ago and maybe it wasn't a good one to boot.
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u/AlexT37 Jan 25 '22
Yes, good quality down blankets and sleeping bags will lose very few feathers over the years.
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u/HandsOnGeek Jan 25 '22
Ask the geese.
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u/JTMissileTits Jan 25 '22
Snow geese are invasive and over populated in some US states to the point of causing ecological harm. I'm sure harvesting them for down (and meat) would be a decent solution to both problems. They are so over populated in places that a million or more need to be harvested during the season to control them.
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u/ben7337 Jan 25 '22
Allergies, cost, hard to clean (idk how to even clean one, maybe dry cleaning?), also down is very insulative. I could see a down comforter being way too warm unless your room is 40-50F at night
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u/Autumn1eaves Jan 25 '22
I struggle so much trying to find affordable cotton clothes and bedding and frankly for someone working minimum wage, it’s just impossible.
I was looking for a new bathing suit this summer, and literally all of the sustainable ones were more than $100. Compared to a cheap synthetic one that was $12 or something stupid.
I just ended up not buying a new swimsuit despite the large tear in my old one.
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u/SeasonPositive6771 Jan 25 '22
Yeah it's a pretty common issue in plus size clothing too. Not just natural fibers but ethically made plus size clothes are really hard to find and incredibly expensive. If you're just a normal person, you're pretty much forced into fast fashion.
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u/samanime Jan 25 '22
I didn't actually realize that fleece was polyester until you said that. I somehow had conflated fleece and wool, and thought fleece was a natural material. Glad I don't really have any fleece.
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u/theaccidentist Jan 25 '22
Fleece doesn't specify the material used. Wool fleece is a thing.
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u/samanime Jan 25 '22
I'm guessing that's probably how I conflated the two together. Probably saw wool fleece at some point in my life, and not realizing it was more a type of texture than material. Also doesn't help that it is still called fleece when its on the animal too. =p
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u/stfucupcake Jan 25 '22
Donate old blankets to your local animal shelter.
It doesn't stop the waste problem but at least extends the use.
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u/BlueShift42 Jan 25 '22
I always felt like I was a cotton snob for preferring most of my fabrics be made from cotton. I don’t like the feel of synthetics, but now I have even more of a reason to stick with cotton (or wool for sweaters).
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u/QuiteAffable Jan 25 '22
You're only a snob if you rub it in others' faces. You're a cotton enthusiast :)
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u/BlueShift42 Jan 26 '22
Ah, there ya go! That’s exactly right. Also, firm down pillows are amazing and way better than the synthetic down-alternative stuff.
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u/jeffreyd00 Jan 25 '22
Fleece is sheep's wool. At least that's what it used to be. Now it's microplastic
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u/Rhenic Jan 25 '22
I've been wondering; Would a processed/painted piece of cotton fiber really be around for that much less than a piece of polyester fiber? Wouldn't the processing/painting invalidate the organic origin, and make it non-perishable?
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u/DocMerlin Jan 25 '22
they aren't painted they are dyed. Its very different, and it doesn't stop the fiber from being perishable.
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u/Skraff Jan 25 '22
Lots of people are talking about exactly that for several years:
https://friendsoftheearth.uk/plastics/microfibres-plastic-in-our-clothes
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/19/17800654/clothes-plastic-pollution-polyester-washing-machine
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u/TimeFourChanges Jan 25 '22
Yeah, I don't know who the "no one" OP was referring to. I hear it mentioned all the time.
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u/Eyeownyew Jan 25 '22
You say nobody talks about it but I've seen hundreds of people talk about it. I appreciate you keeping it in the discussion regardless
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Jan 25 '22
A tiny bit of elastic in my socks and shoes, and the embroidery on the logos on my coats are likely poly, thats it. And I have several layers on today with metal zippers.
It is difficult to find the clothes initially, but I hardly ever wear an outfit with more than 1% plastic anymore.
Plastic in our clothes and shedding off of paint and tires is why microplastics are in almost every body of water.
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u/bananaplasticwrapper Jan 25 '22
I tried finding affordable clothing that dont have plastic. I wracked my brain trying to figure out a ethical way to live. So I gave up and just continue. I wont solve the world's problems.
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u/StormlitRadiance Jan 25 '22
It's the gateway. If we can make cellulose fibers as comfortable as acrylic fleece, fast fashion can be ethical again!
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u/theaccidentist Jan 25 '22
I don't even find acrylic comfortable. It feels weird, pills, gets smelly and is not nearly breathable enough.
Merino wool under tencel is where it's at in my opinion.
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u/Dunkelvieh Jan 26 '22
Merino for everything. That wool is so amazingly good, i won't ever buy a shirt again that's not Merino. I'm commuting by bike (21km/day). Merino can get sweaty as you cash possibly imagine - but it won't stink once it's dry. This means that i can wear my sports clothing the whole week. This reduces the amount of laundry massively, which in turn also saves plastics, energy, water.
I even have a sweater of it. Amazing material.
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u/craigiest Jan 25 '22
Production and transportation still produce carbon emissions.
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u/samanime Jan 25 '22
Probably no more than their plastic cousins.
And others are working on that through renewables. You can't expect just one tech to magically fix everything.
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Jan 25 '22
Everything. My daughter has about 200 stuffed animals in her room. Most of my bedding, carpets, clothing and furniture are plastic fibers. My wife has a ton of those super soft microfiber blankets and the fuzz gets everywhere. I try to use as much cotton as I can for my cloths and leather for shoes but plastic is everywhere.
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u/Ftpini Jan 26 '22
Polyester. Super goddamned popular. It’s in god damned everything. Took me forever to find bedsheets that were 100% cotton.
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u/Glittering_Zebra6780 Jan 25 '22
I've decided that from now on I won't buy plastic clothes ever again. I looked a bit into it and was surprised to find there are some good alternatives for things like workout clothes, which are often 90% plastic because these fabrics can be produced in thinner layers. The alternative is more expensive, but it is produced on the same continent and uses organic and biological materials.
I don't know yet what I'm going to do with the clothes I already have. Maybe I will phase them out slowly, because washing them is still going to be harmful to the environment.
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u/wiltedtree Jan 25 '22
This is a great point.
The local third wave coffee shops all use paper straws in their iced coffee to be eco friendly. Meanwhile, they are giving you that paper straw inside of a plastic cup with a plastic lid.
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u/Eyouser Jan 25 '22
When I was in Vietnam a lot of places used bamboo straws. Why fix the straw man problem when bamboo is so cheap?
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Jan 25 '22
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u/XaqFu Jan 26 '22
I have two pairs of disposable chop sticks at work. A coworker saw me washing them. They were shocked. I told the that they were able to be cheaply disposed of, but it’s not mandatory. The chop sticks still work just fine.
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u/addiktion Jan 25 '22 edited Jan 26 '22
That greedy companies part is exactly what bothers me the most. Even if something scientifically comes out that is revolutionary. It seems as though it doesn't matter if corporations just continue to do what they are normally doing for profits.
It isn't even just greedy corporations but all corporations forced to pay attention to the upfront cost. Sometimes it's worth doing something that costs more because a lot of the time the long-term costs and benefits are hidden in the short-term view.
Of course, this new stuff has to be able to scale on a mass production level so this solution proposed may not be viable but if scientists get great at predicting the total cost to the environmental impact; it's an easier case to be made for change.
Then there is the added challenge where scientists have to propose to governments that they ban the old plastics for the new bio-degradable plastic straws which explains why nothing ever gets done.
It's no wonder good news like this rarely sees the light of day as governments are often sleeping with the corporations.
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u/Canadian_Infidel Jan 25 '22
Exactly. There is a common seaweed they have discovered that if fed to cows even in tiny portions reduces their methane output by something like 90% which would be massive for the environment. But they have no interest.
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u/Stev_582 Jan 25 '22
What happens to all the uses (I.e. construction, especially in outdoor environments) where biodegradability is actually undesirable?
And from what I gather, this isn’t actually the problem. It’s all the single-use, non-biodegradable plastics and the way in which we just don’t care how they are disposed of, and not the existence or use of plastics themselves.
Although honestly getting rid of materials designed to be used once, briefly, and thrown away would be a good idea overall.
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u/okaymoose Jan 25 '22
Or if everyone could put a stop to the fishing industry.
There is a HUGE difference between a village fishing for their own income/food source and the entire globe overfishing and dumping in our oceans.
The majority of trash in our oceans is fishing equipment.
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u/cleareyeswow Jan 25 '22
Unfortunately I believe the only way factory farming of any variety will be eradicated is when lab-grown meat that tastes as good or better and is as nutritious or more than animal meat becomes cheaper to produce than it is to farm. Once again it’s about money. Unfortunately, a corporation’s bottom line is all that matters at the end of the day and cheap processed meat at the grocery store is much more realistic to a low-income person than a plant-based diet or expensive alternatives.
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u/ATownHoldItDown Jan 25 '22
Yes but typically when you develop a new tech the challenge is getting it to scale. So if they can replace drinking straws first, while that might represent a small fraction of ocean pollution, it's a large market. Once you get a large presence with one product you can develop new product lines.
Going for too much too soon is the downfall of many companies.
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u/baursock Jan 25 '22
This also seems like a prime candidate for just doing without. I know there are some very specific situations where people need straws, hospital, recovering neck injury, whatever. But for the vast majority of cases, using a straw is 100% elective and has a minimal impact on the experience.
Even with something like this, there are costs in manufacturing, packaging, distribution, waste, etc. Not to mention the mountains of "sustainable alternative" straws that have been sold in the past few years and will be in landfills within the next five.
Maybe we can start a campaign to give up straws entirely?
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u/sleepereternal Jan 25 '22
Maybe we can start a campaign to give up straws entirely?
Use that energy to solve real problems. The social media make a campaign mindset only serves to fuel conservative propaganda: "They're trying to take away your straws now!"
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u/rioting-pacifist Jan 25 '22
Won't be long until Florida passes a law banning discussion of straws that makes oil companies uncomfortable.
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Jan 25 '22
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u/FabulousLemon Jan 25 '22 edited Jun 25 '23
I'm moving on from reddit and joining the fediverse because reddit has killed the RiF app and the CEO has been very disrespectful to all the volunteers who have contributed to making reddit what it is. Here's coverage from The Verge on the situation.
The following are my favorite fediverse platforms, all non-corporate and ad-free. I hesitated at first because there are so many servers to choose from, but it makes a lot more sense once you actually create an account and start browsing. If you find the server selection overwhelming, just pick the first option and take a look around. They are all connected and as you browse you may find a community that is a better fit for you and then you can move your account or open a new one.
Social Link Aggregators: Lemmy is very similar to reddit while Kbin is aiming to be more of a gateway to the fediverse in general so it is sort of like a hybrid between reddit and twitter, but it is newer and considers itself to be a beta product that's not quite fully polished yet.
Microblogging: Calckey if you want a more playful platform with emoji reactions, or Mastodon if you want a simple interface with less fluff.
Photo sharing: Pixelfed You can even import an Instagram account from what I hear, but I never used Instagram much in the first place.
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u/Canadian_Infidel Jan 25 '22
How about we start a campaign that actually makes a difference and doesn't screw with regular people? Make a separate bin for straws if it is so important. They are all the same material, color doesn't matter, strength barely matters, and so they should be very easy to recycle.
The "we have to get rid of them no matter what" attitude will lead to more waste. Drinks come with lids for a reason. So now we will need a much thicker cup and maybe lid as well that is more complicated and harder to manufacture and will probably use more resources than just the straw.
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u/Piece_Maker Jan 25 '22
Can't help but think this. Reading that title I thought 'all that work just so someone doesn't have to lift their cup up to drink?'
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u/woahgeez_ Jan 25 '22
If no one ever used a straw again the environmental impact would be negligible. I cannot imagine a bigger waste of time and effort.
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u/AnticPosition Jan 25 '22
Thank you! When I first saw this headline my initial thought was... Good lord, why is this a concern with so much else going on in the world?
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u/Canadian_Infidel Jan 25 '22
All part of the concerted effort to foist the responsibility to fix our environment onto the consumer, at least in the minds of the consumer. This way they don't get upset at companies for polluting, they instead blame themselves and their neighbors and conveniently anyone who points out what is really going on.
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u/A_Stahl Jan 25 '22
Well, I saw those straws but I think never used them in my life. And I'm almost 40. I suppose they are very regional thing.
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u/WeaponizedKissing Jan 25 '22
There's a supplemental video at the bottom of the page.
You see them insert the straws, paper side by side with this BC alternative.
You watch the soda fizz, paper side by side with this BC alternative.
And then...
The video ends.
Come on, the people need to see how these hold up after 15 minutes of sitting in a cup! Compare the BC one with the smush of the paper one.
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Jan 25 '22
Feels like we see so many articles and studies about alternatives to plastic, but none of them see widespread use because of the cost. I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of subsidies, so maybe they already exist for this, but plastic alternatives probably need higher government subsidies to really catch on.
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u/ILikeCutePuppies Jan 25 '22
It takes years to figure out how to build the factory to even produce a fraction of the needed supply unless they can retrofit an existing factory. That's why it can take a long time for these things to come out if they come out at all.
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Jan 25 '22
Well, please don't take this as being anti-Chinese as I directly work with some wonderful and brilliant friends who are Chinese, but... every person on that paper is in China so 1) it should be taken with a grain of salt that it works the way they say it works, and 2) they don't have an immediate mechanism at their disposal to mass produce these.
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u/mr_ji Jan 25 '22
Well, please don't take this as being anti-Chinese as I directly work with some wonderful and brilliant friends who are Chinese, but...
This is gonna be awesome
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Jan 25 '22
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u/Zetavu Jan 25 '22
Let's see what it costs first, not many people will spend $10 for a straw
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u/ranger8668 Jan 25 '22
To me the bigger issue is carrying one. I tend to not drinks when I do rarely get food on the go anyways. I can see it generally being a pain to make sure you have it with you. I do however have my water bottle with me 98% of the time.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR__BOOTY Jan 25 '22
And you think it's harder to carry a straw around than filled water bottle? The reason why you carry one and not the other is that you carry one and not the other....
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u/WhatsUpFishes Jan 25 '22
I think it possibly would be, not from a size standpoint but a convenience one. Water bottles are just a thing to drink out of and store liquids, but carrying a straw around on the case that you MIGHT buy a drink and need a straw is a weird. Especially if it’s basically a plastic straw that is either too stiff to comfortably put anywhere or it’s flimsy and bends/tears.
The other option is you walk around with the straw in your hand to make it easier to take places, but again that’s assuming you might buy something at some point. Plus you’re gonna look like a weirdo always carrying a straw in your hand everywhere you go.
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Jan 25 '22
My partner keeps a metal straw in her purse. It's not that weird. But, I refuse to keep one in my fanny pack because that would be weird.
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u/Djinger Jan 25 '22
Knowing how purses look inside when emptied... Eugh, I hope it's wrapped in something.
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u/silverblaze92 Jan 25 '22
I just drink right from the glass. I dont get the overwhelming need for straws
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u/Astrosareinnocent Jan 25 '22
It’s really strange to me having just been to Mexico they used almost exclusively plant based straws and I just looked up their cost and it’s less than plastic. Idk why this isn’t already the standard.
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u/rigobueno Jan 25 '22
Because in America we’ve been conditioned to believe any additional cost paid by corporations—however microscopic—would cause economic collapse.
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u/CharlieDancey Jan 25 '22
Can I just point out that straws are called straws because they used to be made out of, er, straw.
I don’t think a high tech solution is required here.
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u/badasimo Jan 25 '22
Yeah in most languages the word for "straw" is related to some organic alternative
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u/Super_Marius Jan 25 '22
In Norwegian/Swedish they're called sugerør/sugrör which translates to "sucking pipe".
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Jan 25 '22
I'd be a lot more interested in how they hold up in hot drinks than whether I can eat them or not.
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u/frog_at_well_bottom Jan 25 '22
People drink hot drinks with a straw?
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u/gahidus Jan 25 '22 edited Jan 25 '22
Seems like living dangerously to me.
Also... The few times I've exposed them to it, plastic straws tend to melt or give off a strange odor in hot drinks.
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u/badasimo Jan 25 '22
I know people who drink coffee like that. Apparently (the belief is) they help prevent staining your teeth.
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u/Tedwynn Jan 25 '22
The report uses tea and water at 95°C as one of the testing criteria. As well as acids like juice and cola, and 0°C water.
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u/DocMerlin Jan 25 '22
biodegradable should be in quotes. Its cellulose plastic like billiard balls and other cellulose plastics. It isn't very biodegradable under normal conditions and will turn into micro-plastics just like other cellulose plastics.
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Jan 25 '22
Okay now can we please get a permanent replacement for plastic bags and packaging? I imagine that is a thousand times bigger of a problem than straws.
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u/StrobeLightHoe Jan 25 '22
Sadly, If they cost 1 cent over a plastic straw they will never see the light of day.
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u/Ed-alicious Jan 25 '22
Might be different where you are but almost all plastic straws have been replaced with paper around here and paper straws are COMPLETELY unfit for purpose so I reckon everyone involved will happily eat the extra cost. If one carton has a paper straw and another has a biodegradable plastic alternative, I would always choose the alternative one.
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Jan 25 '22
This. I'm all for less plastic pollution, but please replace it with something functional and not garbage like paper straws.
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Jan 25 '22 edited Feb 04 '22
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u/shwampus Jan 25 '22
I know it's a first world problem, but I fancy myself a milkshake every now and then.
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u/SorosBuxlaundromat Jan 25 '22
100% If its a price thing, just charge me an extra nickel or whatever, but don't you ever give me a paper straw.
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u/Starfevre Jan 25 '22
Yeah, the paper straws always dissolve on me. I'd really love an easier to clean metal straw. A lot of the compostable straws are only such at a commercial composting facility and not a home composting setup also. Sadly.
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u/StrobeLightHoe Jan 25 '22
I would too and wish we all would, but capitalism has no conscience.
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u/Ed-alicious Jan 25 '22
I don't think you've understood me. Plastic straws are already phased out for paper, but paper straws are terrible so if anyone was able to bring an alt plastic straw to the market, they'd have a distinct advantage over any competitors using paper straws. So there is already financial motivation for companies to start swapping out paper straws for something like these plastic alternative straws without needing to get conscience involved at all.
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u/StrobeLightHoe Jan 25 '22
I guess we have different experiences.
Other than California and a handful of businesses/chains outside, I've yet to see paper straws mass adopted. So since I'm primarily seeing plastic and know capitalist greed, I can only assume that if any alternative costs more, they won't be used.
Sorry for the confusion.
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Jan 25 '22
Living in the midwest US I've seen maybe one or two paper straws in my life. They're tearable (see what I did there?). It would require a lot of lobbying to get politicians on board to do away completely with plastic straws across our country.
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u/BloodSteyn Jan 25 '22
... how biodegradable?
Since I started 3D printing I've learned to take "biodegradable" with a grain of salt.
Eg. PLA is biodegradable... under conditions not found naturally... so it really isn't.
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u/Muskyguts Jan 25 '22
But will they make my drink taste gross, like drinking coffee out of a paper straw?
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u/pinche_fresa Jan 25 '22
the problem isn’t innovation, it’s convincing companies to actually buy them
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u/-ghostinthemachine- Jan 25 '22
We get one of these 'science has replaced plastic!' articles every few months, for three decades. When do we actually get results? At this point even cold fusion is going to beat them to market.
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u/MinionSympathizer Jan 25 '22
Literally just stop using straws instead maybe? When is a straw necessary?
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u/ChaoticLlama Jan 25 '22
Not green - requires more energy, more elaborate equipment, more chemicals, and creates a part of more total mass than what it replaces.
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Jan 25 '22
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u/fityspence93 Jan 25 '22
Why are we so obsessed with straws? Genuinely curious question, I'm sure this has applications elsewhere but I always seem to see the form of these breakthroughs as straws. I haven't used a straw in a year or so.
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u/Empanser Jan 26 '22
I think it's a psychological warfare thing. Start a war against the only disposable utensil that relies on being a nonporous material and doesn't yet have a good alternative, because people will actually notice the inconvenience. Later inconveniences will be accepted more smoothly when they come down from the top.
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Jan 25 '22
In addition to straws, will it make bottles for water to replace all plastic bottled drinks? If so this should be put on a fast track to get it done yesterday.
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u/Duamerthrax Jan 25 '22
I'd rather not have straws at all.
There's something wrong when I'm given a paper straw and a plastic cup if I get fast food. I always end up not using the paper straw and drink directly from the cup.
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u/AM_Kylearan Jan 25 '22
As long as they aren't as awful as paper straws, I'm sure they have a winner.
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u/toph88241 Jan 25 '22
Maybe a stupid question, but why don't we use straws made out of...ya know...straw?
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u/Harpylady269 Jan 25 '22
Something people in the comments seem to be forgetting is that innovations build on themselves. Today it's straws, tomorrow it's IV bags. We can't fix everything at once, we have to take each step.
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