With the emergence of various new bubble tea establishments in Singapore and the popularity of coffeehouses like Starbucks and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, it is not a shock that there is a large number of single-use plastic straws being disposed (not even recycled) in Singapore. These establishments provide plastic straws for their drinks in a ‘take as you go’ manner, where there is no limit of straws you can take per purchase. Because of this, many plastic straws are wasted and disposed unnecessarily.
In Singapore, there are
Are you aware of the incident that started the popularisation of the massive ban of plastic straws?
Plastic straws are but one of the many types of plastic wastes that end up in the oceans. Some of these plastic wastes like straws, from the Turtle Incident above, end up physically harming marine life. Though this incident did spark off a massive movement of the banning of straws, this is just an isolated incident. There could be thousands more of marine life being subjected to such harsh situations because of the amount of plastics, especially plastics straws we consume.
As such, corporations like Starbucks and Burger King begin to listen to the plight of the masses (see document by Jacksonville (2018) below) to gradually reduce and eliminate the use of plastic straws by providing more sustainable options like paper straws. In a more relatable context, The drink stall in The Deck at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in NUS have also stopped providing plastic straws and instead, gives out paper straws instead for the fruit juices. UTOWN is also a plastic-straw free area where FoodClique and FineFood in UTOWN do not give out plastic straws to consumers (with the exception of GongCha, an outside corporation who has a franchise in UTOWN).
Alternatives of plastic straws have also been made available and popular in the recent years ever since the movement to reduce plastic straws began. Alternatives like bamboo straws, paper straws as mentioned from above and especially metal straws has become popular to the masses.
What are their advantages? For example, bamboo straws and paper straws are compostable unlike plastic straws, and thus at the end of its life cycle, a bulk of bamboo and paper straws would not pollute the earth. Metal straws are eco-friendly in such a way that unlike plastic straws, they are durable and thus can be reused a lot more than once. However, there are also disadvantages.
Pollution from metal straw production is a growing issue that needs to be focused on. Compared to a plastic straw with 1.46g of carbon dioxide emissions, producing one metal straw could release about 217g of carbon dioxide emissions (Woo, 2019). Metal straws are actually unsustainable. Not for its material, but for how it was made – its production stage. Metal straws are made out of nickel that are actually mined, more often than not, unsustainably. One example would be in Palawan, Philippines which was reduced to a wasteland for nickel mining (Freeman, 2019).
Click here for an in-depth list on alternative straws and their advantages and disadvantages.
So…are they good or bad? Well, let’s look at the graphic table below.
All straws have their advantages and disadvantages. The above graphic shows that though the movement to ban plastic straws are done in the best interest for the Earth and its continuity, there is a certain group in the community that’s going to be affected by this. The plastic ban would greatly hurt disabled people and those in hospitals recovering after a surgery. Plastic straws, like its cost and production, is very accessible and easy to use. It is positionable, bendy and not a choking hazard. So though it is important for us to reduce the use of plastic straws, it is also important to still produce them for vulnerable groups in the community.
Here’s another blog post that talks more in depth about the issue on the disabled community and plastic straws.
References
Plastic Pollution Coalition. (2015, November 11). The Turtle That Became the Anti-Plastic Straw Poster Child. Retrieved from https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/pft/2015/10/27/the-turtle-that-became-the-anti-plastic-straw-poster-child
Starbucks to Eliminate Plastic Straws Globally by 2020 2018, , Jacksonville.
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Open in new tab Woo, A., 2020. How eco-friendly is a reusable straw? The Straits Times. Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/how-eco-friendly-is-a-reusable-straw [Accessed September 15, 2020].
Freeman, K., 2019. Metal straws are unsustainable. The Silhouette. Available at: https://www.thesil.ca/metal-straws-are-unsustainable [Accessed September 15, 2020].
