Volunteering at beach clean ups one of the first things you notice is an abundance of plastic straws.
They litter our beaches and float within the oceans often being ingested by marine life , killing them .
Plastic straws take 200 years to break down leaving us with many years of plastic with each straw we accept .
Statistics
The statistics of plastic pollution are frightening and these figures from Seas at Risk just on EU consumption alone should scare you.
36.4 billion drinking straws annually just from the EU being dumped into our oceans …imagine the entire world’s annual straw consumption.
Ban the straw
Thankfully people have started to understand the very real threat to both marine and human life if we continue to use plastic straws.
This has lead to mass protests and #banthestraw campaigns world wide resulting in many restaurants, fast food facilities and shops refusing to supply straws.
But what about those who rely on straws for their daily health? For example toddlers learning to drink, invalids who may be to ill to drink without a straw or the disabled?
Straw alternatives
As a result we have seen many straw alternatives suddenly enter the market.
Options like :-
- Bamboo straws
- Metal straws
- Sillicone straws
- Paper straws
These options are wonderful alternatives but have several negative results.
They are :-
- Costly. One option metal straw I looked at investing in was over R300 each. As a large family this option is not viable. 14 family members x R300 each leaves me broke.
- They need to be cleaned after each use making it difficult if you are drinking a milkshake and suddenly want a soft drink afterwards as most restaurant bathrooms aren’t the most sanitised place to clean items.
- You need to carry this around with you. Whilst small and easy to carry if I can forget my wallet I’m certain to forget my straws.
- In the case of paper straws they are not reusable and dig into our already threatened tree resources.
A plastic alternative
Thus raises the question what do we use? What straw is both economical for food and beverage facilities to consider as an alternative and for us the consumer to safely use?
Meet Save a Fishie straws
Made from PLA, a 100% biodegradable starch made from Mielie cob and other plant based material, these straws not only feel the same as a normal straw, are safe to use but are also cost efficient.
The current cost is R15 for 10 straws.
About Zoe
Zoe Prinsloo is a high school student with the Botasig Girl Guides. Dedicated and passionate about saving the environment she began her quest to find a safer straw alternative after viewing a horrific video of a turtle with a straw embedded in his nose.
Currently Zoe doesn’t use straws and encourages those around her to #banthestraw or use an alternative.
Whilst it is still best not to use any straws her Save a Fishie straws offer that cost effective alternative to those who need to use straws
To find out more join the Facebook page
Interesting. It looks like you could possibly reuse these a couple of times before adding them to your compost, further reducing the cost. I like how they are marketing the straws to those who need them, rather than just everyone. Very cool.
Yes they can be reused. Also added to eco bricks and great for kids art if washed and reused. They thicker feeling than a normal straw. I was very impressed by the entire concept .
Thanks for the awesome blog Julie!! Really really liked! And so happy you like my straws! This has been such an incredible journey for me and I’m just so proud of my little business and really hope more people start either saying no to the straw or use any alternative to the plastic straw! No 1 goal is awareness, growing my business is just an added bonus!
Again, thank you!
It’s my pleasure…keep doing an amazing job