Why can't they just remove the lid and sip like from a cup ?

I've tried the paper straws you're talking about. The problem for me isn't so much what you see in the news articles, it's the taste of the straw which is awful.

Whilst some of the stories going in the media are sensationalist, and borderline stupid, there are equally some stupid comments in this thread.
 
Anyway, aren't the lids for the cups also plastic?

They could massively reduce the waste by giving you cups with no lids at all. And then they are easier to sip from as well.
 
20? years ago, we replaced polystyrene burger boxes and cups with paper ones. Nobody protested. Why? Because we weren't inconvenienced in any way.
We (only in the last few years) replaced plastic sticks to stir coffee with wooden ones. Nobody protested. Why? Because we weren't inconvenienced in any way.
Now people find that a paper straw is not as good as a plastic one and so people want to petition and "damn the environment, I want to drink my bucket of sugary water through a straw"? Clearly there are some people who just want to live for the moment and have no concern (or understanding) of the enormous challenges that will face our children and future generations. There will come a time when there are no more plastic straws. How high that will be on humanities list of things to worry about at that moment remains unclear.

I had a cocktail on Monday night (a rare treat) and it came with a paper straw. I realised it was paper after I had mashed the ice with it and it no longer worked. Rather that wish for a plastic straw that will sit in the ground for 400 years (or end up a Turtle's ar5e), I put my mouth to the glass and drank my cocktail. It was very nice.

Given that the oil will run out (it is a finite resource), why don't we at least limit the use plastic for things where it serves a more useful purpose (and where it's longevity is an asset) rather than (the UK alone) creating billions of straws every year and sticking them in a hole in the ground. It's just not a good use of the materials we have to work with.

Paper straws will get better. They will fix it. Meantime, suck it up.
 
gEd said:
20? years ago, we replaced polystyrene burger boxes and cups with paper ones. Nobody protested. Why? Because we weren't inconvenienced in any way.
We (only in the last few years) replaced plastic sticks to stir coffee with wooden ones. Nobody protested. Why? Because we weren't inconvenienced in any way.
Now people find that a paper straw is not as good as a plastic one and so people want to petition and "damn the environment, I want to drink my bucket of sugary water through a straw"? Clearly there are some people who just want to live for the moment and have no concern (or understanding) of the enormous challenges that will face our children and future generations. There will come a time when there are no more plastic straws. How high that will be on humanities list of things to worry about at that moment remains unclear.

I had a cocktail on Monday night (a rare treat) and it came with a paper straw. I realised it was paper after I had mashed the ice with it and it no longer worked. Rather that wish for a plastic straw that will sit in the ground for 400 years (or end up a Turtle's ar5e), I put my mouth to the glass and drank my cocktail. It was very nice.

Given that the oil will run out (it is a finite resource), why don't we at least limit the use plastic for things where it serves a more useful purpose (and where it's longevity is an asset) rather than (the UK alone) creating billions of straws every year and sticking them in a hole in the ground. It's just not a good use of the materials we have to work with.

Paper straws will get better. They will fix it. Meantime, suck it up.
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A number of people are honest in that they just don't care. They want maximum convenience at any price. They don't intend to be alive long enough to see things get really bad, and although they might claim to be worried for future generations, they can't bring themselves to have less convenience now.

You and I both know some of these people. We work with them, or they might be our neighbours. They just don't care.

Convenience is a drug, and we are addicted.

This isn't to say I'm immune or some kind of role model but... ffs, can't we live without plastic straws? It's so ridiculous to make a big deal about their demise.
 
dowie said:
IMHO it doesn't make a difference, yes hot drinks can cause injuries if you're clumsy with them, it doesn't make it McDonald's fault... an adult ordering a hot drink ought to be aware that a hot drink is indeed hot and that they should be careful with it. [..]
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McDonalds knowingly and deliberately served coffee at an extremely dangerous temperature despite repeated injuries. They were not serving "a hot drink" since a drink must be drinkable in order to be a drink. Drinking a liquid at the temperature McDonalds was serving it at would have been fatal, therefore it was not a drink.

The victim in this case suffered severe and extensive burns requiring a lot of medical treatment and, of course, never completely healing. They initially asked only for McDonalds to cover their medical expenses, the medical expenses they incurred because McDonalds knowingly and deliberately created a hazard. McDonalds refused.

The case is not at all how it is often portrayed as being.

mattyfez said:
As I alluded to earlier in the thread...
If you are so busy then why would you have a drink long enough for a paper straw to go soggy? It's a complete nonsense...

It's an argument from a totally lazy and self entitled angle.
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It's also an argument for a modern fad. It's only recently that straws became used by adults who aren't severely handicapped or very frail. Infants used sippy cups, little children used straws, big children drank like grown-ups, adults drank from a cup/mug unless they were incapable of doing so. I doubt if I've used a straw since I was ~7 years old and I won't use one again unless I become unable to drink from a cup because of illness or frail old age.
 
This is the sort of thread that just makes you want to get off this planet both in the meme sense and also the literal sense.

So much stupidity and denial of a very serious issue.

Just because you recycle it doesn't mean everybody does so you legislate for that.

They may still use plastic elsewhere, but it's a start.

Are you really saying a not being able to drink while driving is such a hardship it's not worth trying to stop poisoning ourselves?

It's not about the polar bears, that's another monumental screw up of ours, this is about slowly poisoning our food chain.
 
Do away with the straws completely. Problem solved. Get people to drink properly and if they need to, bring their own straw!
 
I don't particularly like the paper straws but it doesn't bother me enough to actually complain about it. If there is a positive environmental impact from it then I'm happy to use the paper straws. Perhaps they can improve them somehow by using better paper or something?
 
People missing the point that they (maccies) still use a plastic lid. They clearly didn't think the new straw through, as it's pants.
 
Wizzfizz said:
People missing the point that they (maccies) still use a plastic lid. They clearly didn't think the new straw through, as it's pants.
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People aren't missing anything, they just know that the fact that straws are plastic isn't the only factor. Plastic lids aren't anywhere near as much of a problem as straws. Straws are strong and sharp, which can seriously injure animals in a way that lids can't. Straws also find their way to the oceans more easily due to their characteristics. Even when they do find their way to recycling plants, they don't tend to be as easily recyclable, due to their size and not weight they more easily get discarded by machines due to their size and weight.

Lids on the other hand, don't do as much damage as straws, are typically more recycled in the first place, and are more easily processed once they make their way there.
 
Wizzfizz said:
People missing the point that they (maccies) still use a plastic lid. They clearly didn't think the new straw through, as it's pants.
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Or you’re missing the point, McDonald’s wanted to do the bare minimum to look like it was doing something, straws are the easiest replacement as... guess what you can choose not to use it.

However a lid keeps the drink from spilling, and that’d be a disaster, this is a mild inconvenience.

Would it be cool if they’d figure out a way to not need either, yes it would, in the mean time millions of tonnes of plastic isn’t filling up our ecosystem. Quite frankly if you can’t have a drink, without leaving it for half an hour, don’t bother.
 
MadMossy said:
Why don't they charge for plastic ones and donate that money to charity like all the super markets do with bags.
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Would this really help the environment?

I’m all for anything that would genuinely help the environment but they need to provide better quality straws, etc if they intend to change things

But does using paper straws not now impact something else? Ie more trees cut down each year or something?
 
Whenever I've used a paper straw, I've hated it - It dissolves or loses it's usage far too soon - If you're not drinking fast enough, you know it's slowly becoming a soggy mulch at the bottom.
 
I'd like to see public tap water fountains at all fast food restaurants so you can just fill up your own bottle for free in a reusable bottle to drink strawless and then get a drink free option with meals.

Or just switch to the self service fountain system they have at many American McDonalds.

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If they had that you could use your own fluids container and save on the usage of the entire cup as well as the straw. It's usually free refills as the syrup and carbonated water is so cheap it should still be cost effective.

I carry a sport water bottle nearly every where I go now, I leave one in the car and put one in my backpack when on foot. Definitely encourages me to drink more water.

The only thing I haven't quite managed to work into my routine yet is figuring out how to carry a second resuable cup just for coffee so I can get free coffee from Waitrose whenever I walk by (and of course potentially use it normal coffee shops)

Also - 1.8M straws per day used by McDonalds in the UK! That's mental!
 
JBuk said:
Would this really help the environment?

I’m all for anything that would genuinely help the environment but they need to provide better quality straws, etc if they intend to change things

But does using paper straws not now impact something else? Ie more trees cut down each year or something?
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Yeah but we can plant more trees and make sure we use sustainable sources, that's not an option with plastics.
 
They're just straws, use the biodegradable ones or just do away with them. There's far more important things in life.

"Waa, they go soggy". What's more important, a fast food restaurant's soggy straws, or littering plastic?

MonkeyMan said:
Should just use recyclable plastic ones
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That doesn't solve the issue. They'll still be stuck in grass verges and float around in rivers, lakes and seas for decades. Just because something is recyclable doesn't mean the consumer will dispose of it properly.
 
I wonder how many cold drinks are sold v how many straws taken, I’ve seen people grab handfuls but only have one drink
 
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