Split Straw

The difference in recyclability between plastic and stainless steel helps us understand why it is important to consider using alternatives to plastic. After plastic is recycled 2-3 times, its quality decreases to a point where it cannot be used anymore. This requires virgin material to be added to upgrade its quality back to a usable product. On the other hand, no matter how many times stainless steel is recycled, its quality is not lost, so there is no need to add virgin material in the recycling process. Keep this fact in mind, especially when you see labels like “recycled material.”

Biofilm is a thin, slimy film of bacteria that adheres to a surface. Biofilms like to form on the inside of hard-to-reach spaces, like the moist environments found on the insides of straws. If straws are not properly cleaned, it is possible for the user to ingest these films of bacteria and develop gastrointestinal problems.
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Remember to keep this in mind the next time you clean your reusable straws!
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Did you know that an estimated 500 million straws are used each day in the US alone? According to Eco-Cycle, a non-profit organization heading the “Be Straw Free Campaign,” 500 million straws could fill over 127 school buses each day!

These plastic straws could end up in wildlife habitats, waterways, or landfills, staying for hundreds of years unable to decompose. The over-use of plastic straws definitely contributes to our current plastic pollution, so think again when you are offered a plastic straw!