Welcome back!
Let’s move on from talking about the waste generated in the production of bubble tea to… the waste generated from consumer habits! If you’ve previously felt indifferent toward the issue on tapioca pearls (cassava processing, pearl production and bubble tea making), hopefully this will strike more of a chord with you.
Without any further delay, let’s address the elephant in the room. Our massive appetite for plastic products is exacerbating the ever-growing problem of plastic pollution as plastics remain in our environment for millions of years, and each year, we add 380 million tonnes to the amount of plastic in our planet!
You might ask, isn’t the world already trying to tackle the plastic problem? Well, you’re right! Since 2017, different countries have begun to impose bans on plastic products and in 2018, Seattle was the first to enact a ban on plastic straws, being the largest U.S. city to do so.
But even so, only a minority of countries have taken concrete action in reducing and curbing plastic consumption, and much more definitely needs to be done surrounding such legislation in other countries.
However for this and subsequent posts, let’s focus on one type of plastic waste common to all of us – plastic straws.
So… what’s the big deal about straws?
Ubiquitous in our lives, straws are used mainly for the consumption of food and beverages. In a hospital setting, straws minimise movement needed and allow patients to consume beverages while lying in bed. In the United States alone (comprising 4% of global population size), 500 million straws were consumed each day. Despite this shocking figure that implies an even greater consumption of plastic straws globally, the reality is that straws only make up around 4% of all plastic pollution by piece and their contribution by weight is almost negligible.
However, the problem lies in the fact that straws are used only once and for extremely short amounts of time before being thrown away to persist in our environment for millions of years. Doesn’t seem worth it, does it? Moreover, their small size and weight allows them to float on water surfaces, causing them to be consumed by both sea animals and sea birds. Additionally, their small size prevents them from being recycled as well as their plastic counterparts, not forgetting that they’re usually contaminated with food remains which makes it even harder.
Do check out this National Geographic article because it gives a great summary of the problem surrounding plastic straws, plus they’ve included the heartbreaking video of a plastic straw stuck in a turtle’s nostril that I mentioned in my first post.
We have so much reason to stop the production and consumption of plastic straws, yet despite the urgent need to phase out as many straws as possible, it really isn’t as easy as it sounds. Indeed, although one could do away with the straw entirely for coke, fruit juices or smoothies, it’s a different ball game when it comes to the bubble tea industry.
Why can’t bubble tea stores just “phase out straws”? What makes the bubble tea industry so different from others?
In my next post, I’ll be answering these questions and we’ll look at some alternative solutions that have been adopted to reduce plastic straw consumption.
Stay tuned!
Hi Yee Qi! While researching for my group’s ENV1101 sustainability project, I came across an article about edible rice straws gaining popularity in Singapore. I’ll leave a link to it here.
(https://mustsharenews.com/rice-straws/) If more bubble tea companies in Singapore could switch from plastic straws to edible straws, how effective do you think they would be in reducing their waste? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Hello Sarah!
Thank you for sharing this really cool idea about an edible straw made of rice! I checked out the article and this straw really seems to outcompete the rest as it’s biodegradable! I recall a time when my family went out and they received a similar straw that could be edible and looks just like the photos in the article, though I no longer remember which shop they visited.
I was thinking if the short shelf life (90 days) compared to other plastic, metal, glass or bamboo straws, would pose a problem in terms of storage, and would this mean you’ll need to import it more (assuming it’s made overseas), thus generating a higher carbon footprint? Plus, would these straws have to be packaged to keep out moisture or does humid Singapore not pose any problem? As cool as it sounds, I’m not sure how receptive Singaporeans would be in using them as well! I think of the rice straw similarly to the bamboo straw, will the texture feel weird and would there be a weird taste? No one will probably eat the straw, or at least that’s what I think? 😮 One last thing is that these straws use tapioca starch, and in my first post I shared about the detrimental impacts of pearls on the environment precisely because it used tapioca starch. However, I think F&B outlets should definitely explore this option and researchers should continue running tests to prove its efficacy and feasibility!
Thanks so much for shedding light on this new biodegradable straw that looks quite promising in reducing plastic waste, I really appreciate it! 🙂
Hi Yee Qi,
If you were there at the end of last class for the discussion, I said (in response to Jian Xi’s question, I think) that it is up to each person to think about when, if at all, humanity will decide we’ve hit a wall as far as environmental degradation is concerned and what actions that wall merits, e.g., an all-out assault on our lifestyles.
I understand why a straw is required to drink boba. But let me ask you… if you argue, as you do in your reply to Sarah-Ann, that maybe consumers won’t be willingly embrace edible alternatives or that these alternatives might not be all that environmentally-friendly, at what point do we decide that maybe boba is a luxury we will have to reject ?
You don’t have to answer this Q here or at all. But maybe it would be a good thing to reflect on and possibly make a nice topic for a final post ? Wouldn’t it be super interesting to have many students in this class who are blogging about diverse consumptive activities, whether it’s Joseph and his toys, Sarah-Ann and her arts, Jo and her coffee, Jun Yu and his celebrations, etc., asking yourselves how, if at all, your blogs and learning in ENV1101 have altered your thoughts on the overall activities themselves and your personal willingness to give stuff up ? Just a thought.
I’ll be candid and tell you I’m not at the point of saying I’ll stop flying back to Canada to see my loved ones (when travel is allowed again) or I’ll give up coffee, beer, chocolate or cheese.
Hi Yee Qi!
Do you think that perhaps we should focus more on plastic waste management instead of phasing out plastic straws? After all, reusable straws require way more energy to produce as compared to plastic straws. Personally, I think that many are swept away by the hype of living a sustainable lifestyle and bought reusable straws but eventually forget about them…
Hope to hear from you soon!
Lixuan
Hello Lixuan!
Thank you raising this up, I totally agree with what you mentioned on people joining in the straw movement because of the hype but not committing to their decision long-term! And that’s what I’ll be talking about in my upcoming posts as well, and I plan on doing a survey to find out how much people actually use their resuable straws! 🙁 I’m not so sure about what plastic waste management completely entails, but I would see it as related to recycling plastic and although we could focus on that, I feel that prevention is better than cure and in the same way, reducing the generation of plastic waste at its source will be easier than managing the waste thereafter! Though I definitely agree that we cannot just focus on one, and in dealing with environmental issues, the solutions often have to be multi-pronged! Hope this answers your question! 🙂