By Earl Valenzuela

In the heat of the day, we often get parched and seek to hydrate ourselves with different beverages, whether it be water, juice, tea, or any other liquid we may find ourselves longing for. Along with these beverages are straws—long, slender and hollow materials often made out of plastic, which aids us in drinking these refreshments. Nevertheless, it has been brought to the public’s attention that these straws are wreaking havoc on a myriad of different ecosystems—more particularly on the aquatic biosphere, where a recent trend of #SaveTheTurtles had arisen with the current controversies surrounding sea turtles accidentally ingesting these plastic straws, or are inadvertently rammed in their bodily crevices, mistaking these plastic straws as jellyfish which is their primary source of sustenance. Propitiously, a multitude of brands and companies are now offering solutions to this plastic straw crisis through the introduction of “eco-friendly alternatives. Many interpretations surround the word “eco-friendly,” and we can build it upon the definition of having no threat to the environment, or contextually, products that promote a less environmentally-impactful lifestyle. 

A single plastic straw’s influence on the environment is unquestionable; what more with billions produced and discarded annually? This situation had given these alternatives a new purpose: metal straws, paper straws, rice straws, and other straws made out of decomposable and organic materials had risen in popularity among the masses recently; yet many beg to question the potency of these alternatives to the contemporary plastic crisis.

Take a metal straw, for example; at first glance, it’s reusable and is convenient to carry around with you. A study had indicated that for every million plastic straws produced annually, 100% of those straws are discarded within five years, also taking into note that plastic straws are single-use, and therefore get discarded even before a year ends—whilst for every million metal straws produced, only 3% (or about 30,000) are discarded after five years! Though, for you to break even on the effect of a single plastic straw on the environment, you’d have to use a single metal straw at least 150 times.

But if we dig deeper, not only metaphorically but also literally, these metal straws are the essence of the Earth itself, they’re made out of metals, therefore, they had to be mined somewhere. Unfortunately, the mass production of these metal straws not only expends the same energy it takes to produce at least 90 plastic straws and emits approximately the same amount of GHGs (greenhouse gases) of 150 plastic straws, these metal straws are also the product of nickel mining. Different mining areas, such as in Palawan had turned 400 to 500 hectares of luscious forests and habitats for wildlife into a desecrated wasteland whose natural riches had been exploited. 

Some might notice that myriads of other establishments are providing a substitute for plastic straws—straws made out of paper, which many deem to be flexible as the paper itself does not have the capability to do much harm to the environment, let alone when it ends up on oceans. Moreover, paper straws are biodegradable, unlike plastic straws that will stay with us for about 450 years until they fully decompose. Nonetheless, these paper straws aren’t as environmentally friendly as we might initially think.

These paper straws are flimsy and easily get soggy, therefore, becoming more inconvenient when it comes to consuming liquids. Many might argue that these paper straws are much better in the long run compared to plastics, yet we cannot ignore the reality that they are most likely unsustainable. Empirical evidence also suggests that once paper straws become contaminated with the materials making up a beverage, they are rendered non-recyclable given that most recycling plants do not have the proper equipment to process these properly; therefore, they end up in the same place where plastic straws are discarded—landfills. Not to mention, paper straws are mainly sourced from trees, and deforestation is another environmental issue we have to worry about.

A few establishments are also offering straws made out of edible, organic material such as rice straws, which technically ticks all the boxes when it comes to environmental-friendliness; many deem it to be sustainable, compostable, and even edible and retains the convenience of single-use straws. Even so, its degree of public acceptance and popularity has not reached its climax, yet, and given that only a handful of establishments offer it makes it difficult to source due to its scarcity.

These “eco-friendly” alternatives aren’t only limited to straws, there are also eco-bags, paper cups, and paper plates. While most companies emphasize them as being “environmentally friendly,” most of these materials end up being non-recyclable and are no different from what they were intended to go against—plastics. Eco-bags need to be used approximately 104 times to break even the effects of a single plastic bag on the environment, whilst also taking into account that these eco-bags consists of plastic-based, fiber-like nylon, which thins out and disintegrates over time, therefore producing millions of microplastics which eventually find their way into oceans.  While the majority of both paper cups and paper plates have thin layers of wax or plastic on their surfaces which prevents them from being recycled.

A notion one might get from this is to simply go strawless, or stop using materials that threaten the environment. Be that as it may, we can never reject the relevance and necessity of plastics in our contemporary society, as plastic is integrated into our everyday lives, ranging from our electronic devices to our clothes. We must take into account that individual decisions have little to no impact when it comes to solving our modern-day plastic pollution crisis, but this should not discourage us from having a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. If we take the information that has been provided to us and have an actualization that we, as humans, can at least do the bare minimum by cutting down on our use of plastics if possible, and implementing a large-scale action collectively as a society. We must hold large corporations accountable for their continuous mass production of single-use, plastic-based products in this era where a multitude of new alternative mediums are available, yet avoid using it to be more “cost-efficient.” National governments must uphold their pleas of cutting down their GHG emissions, and we must make calls to action on proper climate action not only within our small localities, but also to our entire nation. While we, as individuals, must come into agreement that we need to lessen our carbon footprint on this Earth, we need to minimize our utilization and reliance on technology, even a single SMS can enlarge our carbon footprint. Then maybe, even with a small amount of hope, we can take a step forward in reversing what we first thought to be nigh irreversible. 

REFERENCES:

Holzer, Daniel. “What Does Eco-Friendly Mean?” Home Guides | SF Gate. SF GATE, November 17, 2020. https://homeguides.sfgate.com/ecofriendly-mean-78718.html.   

Limos, Mario Alvaro. “Metal Straws vs. Plastic: Their Impact on the Environment.” Esquiremag.ph. Esquire Philippines, August 15, 2019. https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/are-metal-straws-bad-for-the-environment-a00293-20190815.

Chiu, Jeff. “Editorial: Going Strawless Is Good, but It Won’t Save the Planet. Let’s Go Even Further.” LA Times. Los Angeles Times, August 4, 2018. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-plastic-straws-20180804-story.html.

Latten, Bas. “Paper Straws: Are They Really as Eco-Friendly as We Think They Are?” Straws. ECO Wheat – Straws, December 9, 2020. https://wheat-straws.com/blogs/news/paper-straws-are-they-really-as-eco-friendly-as-we-think-they-are.