Drink straws

[Aquahound]

On 10/4/2019 at 10:12 AM, 3CatsInMA said:

OP--you should ignore Royal's corporate virtue signalling and smuggle a box of genuine plastic straws on to the ship. 😁

 

Just carry concealed like some Californians have to do. 😂

 

[slidergirl]

7 hours ago, ZiggaZagga17 said:

Yup .. definitely heard of a spoon! Apparently they go nicely with a knife and fork at the dinner table! and I don't know anyone who consumes a drink with any of them either!

 

Apparently you've not had a Frozen Caipirihina (excuse the spelling).  I had one made with liquid nitrogen at SLS in Beverly Hills - it freezes it instantly.  You are given a demitasse spoon do "drink" it..  What do you do if you get a milkshake somewhere that is so thick that you can turn it upside down and not lose any?  My local shop gives you a spoon...

 

Plenty of places have stopped plastic bags and single-use plastic bottles.  On Capri (Italy), you can't even bring your single-use bottle off the ship anymore.  NCL is going to a recyclable container for the water.  Don't know why it sounds disgusting to some.  I've had water in many different containers and plastic is my least favorite as I can taste the plastic.   

 

The restaurant at my hotel as non-paper straws that are compostible.  I see NO difference in using them vs plastic.  

Just down from Port Canaveral in Cocoa Beach, there is a "posse" of early morning walkers who also pick up trash.  So much plastic each morning...

 

Is there a correlation to plastic lovers and climate deniers?  Asking for a friend...

[ZiggaZagga17]

2 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Is there a correlation to plastic lovers and climate deniers?  Asking for a friend...

No idea! 

 

But you might want to tell your friend that as my initial post states, I've been using metal 'reusable' straws (and for that matter insulated metal drinks bottles too) for quite a while now!

 

Said metal straws also work very well with the type of milkshakes you mention too!

[BlueRiband]

If we are expected to carry our own metal straws, perhaps next we will need to carry our own knives and forks as that would the save on the detergent and energy used in the commercial washing and sanitization process.

 

I just got a package from an online retailer.  It came in a padded plastic bubble envelope.  I'd estimate that the plastic in that envelope would make at least 100 plastic straws.  Yet few will be willing to give up their fast and convenient "a" dot com shipping. 

[ilikeanswers]

10 minutes ago, BlueRiband said:

If we are expected to carry our own metal straws, perhaps next we will need to carry our own knives and forks as that would the save on the detergent and energy used in the commercial washing and sanitization process.

 

I just got a package from an online retailer.  It came in a padded plastic bubble envelope.  I'd estimate that the plastic in that envelope would make at least 100 plastic straws.  Yet few will be willing to give up their fast and convenient "a" dot com shipping. 

 

Cutlery on cruises are usually not made of plastic so there is no reason to be bringing your own. As for packaging I agree it is a problem but there are alternatives. One company I order from goes old school with newspaper, and even the glassware I ordered has never broken. There was another company that uses styrafoam made from corn and I have even had bubble wrap made from corn. So there are alternatives, it is just a matter of online companies being aware and perhaps as consumers it would be a good idea to send an email to these companies suggesting they look into alternatives for their packaging. If they see consumers want it they will be more likely to change.

[clo]

11 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Is there a correlation to plastic lovers and climate deniers?

Or those who put their personal and petty wants over the big picture.

[slidergirl]

2 hours ago, BlueRiband said:

If we are expected to carry our own metal straws, perhaps next we will need to carry our own knives and forks as that would the save on the detergent and energy used in the commercial washing and sanitization process.

 

I just got a package from an online retailer.  It came in a padded plastic bubble envelope.  I'd estimate that the plastic in that envelope would make at least 100 plastic straws.  Yet few will be willing to give up their fast and convenient "a" dot com shipping. 

The last 5 packages I received this week had NO plastic packaging.  Either all paper filler or the corn "styrofoam".  Some of us do have a conscience about where we shop.  

I'm just over the hyperbole of "what are we going to have to carry or give up next".   BTW - I always carry a set of cutlery when I travel - never know when I'm going to find something yummy at a market and just make my own lunch/dinner/snack.  I thought every savvy traveler did this...

[clo]

2 hours ago, slidergirl said:

 I thought every savvy traveler did this..

We do!  At home we have a "travel box" that has things we only use when traveling, whether air or land.  One zipping bag has various utensils, seasonings.  We also have a couple of plastic plates.  Countless times we've had a dinner of meats, cheese, you name it.

[peanutter]

So I have been thinking about all the plastic use - just how many instances I can think of where plastic is ubiquitous.  The one area that really sticks out to me is in the medical field.  Just one recent example, my BIL had a couple of stents placed a few months back.  A few complications so he was in the hospital for 3 days.  Let's see, there were the many IVs (tubes and bags of various medicines & saline), tubing for oxygen, the stents themselves (can be metal or plastic), plastic items for the room (cup, pitcher, urinal), single serve food containers like for Jell-O, butter, etc. along with plastic wrap covering some of the items on the meal plates, and other miscellaneous items that I can't recall and wouldn't know about (lab stuff?)  Oh, and a ton of gloves (plastic as I guess a lot of people are allergic to latex).

 

I get it - these are medical necessities and Lord knows they are needed as we seem to have such a problem controlling infectious elements in hospitals (I worked for a health system).  But I personally feel my straws are a bit of a medical necessity for me.  I use them for my coffee and tea (small one that I wash out and use for a couple of weeks then put in recycling bin).  I also use the bigger ones for my very thick smoothie and my very occasional carbonated drinks (also clean these out with a little brush and have used the same ones for months).  By using these, I can keep my teeth really clean and do not worry about acids eroding my teeth.  Not a life and death situation, but by doing this, I endure very little scraping by my dental hygienist and my enamel is strong.  I also like using straws in restaurants and on ship because I have seen many "clean" cups and glasses with lingering lipstick.  Who knows what is on the rims that I can't see.

 

I do care about plastic in the environment and really detest litter of all kinds on the side of my local roads and in our lakes/rivers.  However, I will continue to use straws, will put them in the recycle bin and am pretty sure I will not come close to creating even a pound of straw plastic waste in my lifetime.  Not even close.  I'm not sure what I am going to do on my upcoming cruises but will figure out a way to have a straw.

[ilikeanswers]

2 hours ago, peanutter said:

So I have been thinking about all the plastic use - just how many instances I can think of where plastic is ubiquitous. The one area that really sticks out to me is in the medical field.

You do realise we are talking about non essential single use plastic of which there is plenty the world can live without. 

 

2 hours ago, peanutter said:

By using these, I can keep my teeth really clean and do not worry about acids eroding my teeth.  Not a life and death situation, but by doing this, I endure very little scraping by my dental hygienist and my enamel is strong. 

You do realise that reusable straws would achieve the same results? And if you are concerned about health don't you think removing plastic from the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat would also be good for our health?

 

2 hours ago, peanutter said:

However, I will continue to use straws, will put them in the recycle bin

 Look unless the straws you are buying specifically say they are recyclable chances are they are not and you putting them in the recycle bin is probably contaminating the plastic that could be recycled. It is why China stopped buying our plastic, it is why Malaysia and Indonesia are considering the same thing because we are ignorant of how much plastic is non recyclable. When recyclable plastic is contaminated they throw everything out into landfill. You are not doing anyone any favours by putting your straws in the recycle bin. You are most likely making things worst. 

[clo]

2 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 Look unless the straws you are buying specifically say they are recyclable chances are they are not and you putting them in the recycle bin is probably contaminating the plastic that could be recycled. It is why China stopped buying our plastic, it is why Malaysia and Indonesia are considering the same thing because we are ignorant of how much plastic is non recyclable. When recyclable plastic is contaminated they throw everything out into landfill. You are not doing anyone any favours by putting your straws in the recycle bin. You are most likely making things worst. 

All your points are superb but for me this is the biggie.  At home I've gotten hyper conscious of what should be in that recycle bag/bin.  As you say, if I 'contaminate' it then the whole thing is moot.

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, clo said:

All your points are superb but for me this is the biggie.  At home I've gotten hyper conscious of what should be in that recycle bag/bin.  As you say, if I 'contaminate' it then the whole thing is moot.

 

I really applaud you for being vigilant about your recycling, it would certainly help if there was better publicity about what you can and can't recycle. But I do think at the end of the day we need to stop thinking recycling is the answer to our problems. The truth is virgin plastic is so cheap, and the market for recycled plastic is too small compared to how much plastic we throw out. Even when everything is done right the plastic bundles can end up in storage for years before finally being chucked in landfill in some third world country because they couldn't find anyone to buy it. There is no magic solution. We have to reduce our consumption of plastic period. 

[clo]

11 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

We have to reduce our consumption of plastic period.

Absolutely.  Our biggest plastic items are cottage cheese container (for the dog) about one every two weeks and his dang wet food  in these little square plastic containers.  A little metal (cans) and paper products.

[ilikeanswers]

2 hours ago, clo said:

Absolutely.  Our biggest plastic items are cottage cheese container (for the dog) about one every two weeks and his dang wet food  in these little square plastic containers.  A little metal (cans) and paper products.

 

Wow that is amazing. You must have great shops in your area. My biggest problem is that all my shops wrap everything in plastic. Even the fruit and veg shops they portion everything up and place them in plastic cartons😕.

[slidergirl]

11 hours ago, clo said:

We do!  At home we have a "travel box" that has things we only use when traveling, whether air or land.  One zipping bag has various utensils, seasonings.  We also have a couple of plastic plates.  Countless times we've had a dinner of meats, cheese, you name it.

besides my cutlery, I have my trusty Swiss Army knife to cut things or open that wine.  I carry a backpacker's cutting board. That board can serve as my plate.  I always carry a bandana, so there's my napkin.   I'm good to go anywhere!!!   

 

I'm waiting for some of these yahoos to come back from a cruise and complain that they were forced to use a paper bag and couldn't get a bottle of water because the little village the visited doesn't use plastic anymore.  Sometimes the smaller places can implement non-single-use plastic policies faster and easier than cities.   Then, they will start drinking the tap water on NCL because they don't want water in a paper container - and that tap water is the same that they complained about being high salt content so they had to switch to bottles...  🙄

Edited October 8, 2019 by slidergirl

[peanutter]

10 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

You do realise we are talking about non essential single use plastic of which there is plenty the world can live without. 

 

You do realise that reusable straws would achieve the same results? And if you are concerned about health don't you think removing plastic from the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat would also be good for our health?

 

 Look unless the straws you are buying specifically say they are recyclable chances are they are not and you putting them in the recycle bin is probably contaminating the plastic that could be recycled. It is why China stopped buying our plastic, it is why Malaysia and Indonesia are considering the same thing because we are ignorant of how much plastic is non recyclable. When recyclable plastic is contaminated they throw everything out into landfill. You are not doing anyone any favours by putting your straws in the recycle bin. You are most likely making things worst. 

 

I appreciate the information about recycling straws. I really do. I'm not terribly fond of the tone of the delivery but understand the subject is a hot point for some. I'll check out what my local waste system recommends.

 

My point is that compared to the "necessities" (cars, phones, computers, TVs, refrigerators, etc.) and true 21st century necessities like the aforementioned medical items and hypodermic needles, band-aids, medicine containers, etc., my few straws are not even an atom in a drop of the bucket of the world's plastic. Seriously.

 

I will continue to reduce, reuse and recycle where I can as I have done for many years.

[Bookish Angel]

20 hours ago, BlueRiband said:

If we are expected to carry our own metal straws, perhaps next we will need to carry our own knives and forks as that would the save on the detergent and energy used in the commercial washing and sanitization process.

 

I carry my own washable bamboo knife, fork and spoon set in my purse for eating out, at work, etc.   The 3 pieces cost about $11.00 - well worth it considering all the plastic I don't take.

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, peanutter said:

 my few straws are not even an atom in a drop of the bucket of the world's plastic. Seriously.

 

Except that people don't live in a vacuum. Yes your contribution is small but if the majority made the small contribution to not buy or use single use plastic straws then companies would stop making them and they would disappear the same way the VCR is no longer in production. That in turn can effect a cultural change in companies and governments if they see that as a society we want something done about the plastic problem, that we want and are ready to make a changes in our lifestyles to fix the problem. Don't think you don't matter, you are part of the ecosystem that makes these things happen.

[Floridiana]

19 hours ago, slidergirl said:

 I thought every savvy traveler did this...

 

It sounds like a good idea. My husband was gifted a set of metal chopsticks and a metal spork by a bank in Lhasa, Tibet. It is so cool, but I can't handle metal chopsticks, too smooth. I will look for metal straws in Argentina and Uruguay. They use them for  their mate tea.

[SRF]

46 minutes ago, Floridiana said:

I will look for metal straws in Argentina and Uruguay. They use them for  their mate tea.

 

For mate, most of the straws are built into the cup.

[Floridiana]

16 minutes ago, SRF said:

For mate, most of the straws are built into the cup.

I know they come with a cup but they can be taken out, I hope.

Edited October 8, 2019 by Floridiana

[ilikeanswers]

4 minutes ago, Floridiana said:

I know they come with a cup but they can be taken out, I hope.

 

It seperates but I think there is filter at the end of the straw. Don't know if that unscrews, unless that is an attribute you are looking for. I can think of a few drinks where that filter would come in handy😀.

[clo]

9 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Wow that is amazing. You must have great shops in your area. My biggest problem is that all my shops wrap everything in plastic. Even the fruit and veg shops they portion everything up and place them in plastic cartons😕.

Oh, it and I am not perfect.  But here on the West/Left Coast we may be a bit more conscious.  I do sometimes buy spinach and other greens in a non-recyclable bag cause the big clamshells are sometime just too big.  I'll likely be in the grocery later and will look around.  But to me the point is that if I have a choice I try to choose well.

[Airbear232]

On 10/4/2019 at 12:08 PM, ZiggaZagga17 said:

With the seemingly out n out refusal to use plastic straws by pretty much everybody nowadays - and quite rightly so, the downside is the sometimes poor quality of paper straws that are provided at the likes of McDonalds etc - I'm a sucker for the 'odd' milkshake on my rest week as I'm pottering around doing my errands!

 

A while back my sister in law bought me a pack of metal straws and (having been cleaned) I always keep a few in the car for said milkshake trips etc!

 

So I'd been thinking and having spotted a deal (ish) for bigger packs of them (that include cleaning brushes) I intend taking them on our next cruise in a couple of weeks. We usually drink the same drink around the pool (Mudslide), and in the lounge in the evening during HH, so using the same straw for 2/3 drinks on the run would be no drama to us! The deal I got literally gives us each 4 new straws a day for the whole cruise if cleaning them or changing of drinks became an issue! 

 

So what do people think? My concern would be the same as people filling water bottles at drinks fountains etc, yet I can't think how these metal straws could pose anyone a risk like that - or could I be missing something?

 

Bon Voyage!

 

 

Great idea!

[SRF]

5 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

It seperates but I think there is filter at the end of the straw. Don't know if that unscrews, unless that is an attribute you are looking for. I can think of a few drinks where that filter would come in handy😀.

 

Some do, and some are welded in place.

 

Most of the ones I have seen, the straw is fixed.

 

I was just in Uruguay and Paraguay in June.