suck your own straw

New statistic for you. Are you ready?

500 million plastic straws are used and thrown away in the US every day.

What happens to those plastic straws? That's right - either trashed in landfills (if lucky) or wind up in the oceans to eventually degrade into micro-plastics and become "food" for the animals. They are made with bisphenol A (or S) and pose a health risk to you, the animals and the planet.

Restaurants alone hand out the bulk of these plastic straws and many times to people who don't even want them.

Paper Straws

This single-use plastic item can be avoided so easily!

• If you aren't into straws in the first place then make sure your server knows this when you order your drink. If you notice that the establishment bring water to the table automatically, ask the hostess to let the server or bus know your wishes when you are being sat.
• Let your host/server know why you find this important. Restaurant personnel will honor your wishes more closely if they understand that you aren't just being fickle. It might even open a few eyes to the plastic epidemic. 
• If you like using straws (I do) then bring your own and follow the above recommendations. 

There are now many choices of reusable straws: paper, glass and stainless steel.

Stainless Steel Straws

The paper straws are nice for photography, but not very practial to drink from because they degrade very quickly. In addition, they are still single use disposable.

Glass straws are great (I hear) [AMAZON], but in this house, where we are prone to lots of breakage, I opted for the stainless steel model [AMAZON].

This particular brand and package had an extra thick straw for smoothies, a few bent ones and an extra long one for those beverages in tall containers. I know that metal flavor is a concern to some people, and I can tell you that there is no aftertaste with stainless steel straws or bottles. 

Remember, there is no shame in bringing your own straws to use in restaurants and the amount of plastic you refuse by using them can indeed make an impact for all those involved.