We agree that before the COVID 19 pandemic, the use of straws was a matter of taste, there are those who like to use it, for various reasons (although there are drinks that do well for them, such as a margarita), or, there are also those who prefer not to use it.
But nowadays it is convenient to use straws, due to the pandemic, and especially in public establishments, such as cafeterias, restaurants, hospitals, events, etc.
For all of the above mentioned above, it is important that we know the environmentally friendly options offered by the straw market.
First, we can talk about reusable straws, where we can group those made of stainless steel, glass and bamboo.
As for their advantages, it is clear that at least stainless steel and glass offer cleanliness and elegance, we cannot say the same thing about bamboo, at least not as much as the previous two, since they sometimes release a slight touch of wood, and because of their heterogeneity, sometimes you have to suck hard.
You can carry the steel ones in a case and take them wherever you like, not the glass one, which would be a bit risky to carry because of the fragile nature of the glass. Both are made of thermally conductive material, not suitable for hot drinks.
Then there are paper straws, with many more disadvantages than advantages; since paper, due to its high disposable and low recyclability (in the application of a straw), is highly polluting, especially because of the volume it generates.
Another major disadvantage is that its performance is far from optimal, it is common for the straw to weaken rapidly while you use it.
The last option we will analyze are bioplastic straws, whether biodegradable or biobased.
These are straws that you currently find in many places, made of different materials, such as agave, starch, wood, etc.
Its advantages are that they are easy to obtain anywhere, they are lightweight and cheap.
As for its disadvantages, it is important to mention that the fact that a straw is made of a bioplastic still has a common polymer percentage, although the tendency of producers is to gradually reduce the use of polymers, the development of new technologies will surely help us achieve that goal.
Also, a fact to take into account is that even if a straw is biodegradable, it is not appropriate to discard it like any other waste, since for materials to degrade they must be subject to certain environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, pressure, etc.
By: Eduardo Rivera
Main photo: unsplash.com/SWZLE
