Page 61 - Thirst Magazine Issue No. 3 Coffee & Tea

mixed drinks, but when 500 million straws are
used daily in North America, alternatives must
seriously be considered. STRAWS
International and local organisations like The
Last Straw, One Less Straw, Be Straw Free, and Of the plastic variety, and other alternatives.
our home-grown Tak Nak Straw have emerged
to educate people on single-use waste and the
importance of reusable options. Even singer
Yuna has leant her voice to a social media video PLASTIC
campaign by the Plastic Pollution Coalition to
encourage people to ‘stop sucking’ and ditch PROS: CONS:
plastic straws entirely. Cheap. Easily Wasteful and not
And it’s gaining momentum at industry available. Good for environmentally
level too: Tales of the Cocktail launched sensitive teeth. friendly.
the Sustainability Summit earlier this year
to discuss practices to reduce waste (both
organic and not) in the bar, where the topic
of eliminating plastic straws was also touched
on – moderator Chad Arnholt argued “Guests PAPER
don’t need straws, and experience has shown PROS: CONS:
that if a bar doesn’t offer them, guests really Cheap. Recyclable. Becomes soggy
don’t notice.”; the eco-friendly bartending duo Easily available. in liquid.
behind Trash Tiki have taken their zero-waste
bartending concept around the world, while
championing bamboo straws behind the bar;
and Starbucks caused a stir when they started
using edible cookie straws in Frappucinos in METAL
the US and Canada since 2015.
PROS:
THE FINAL STRAW Durable. Doesn’t CONS:
Might be hard
The simplest way forward would be to stop retain flavours or on sensitive
using and accepting plastic straws in your odours. Won’t rust teeth. May have
drinks entirely, but for some this might not (stainless steel). sharp edges.
be a very feasible or desirable option. On an
individual level, reusable metal straws made
from titanium or stainless steel are easy to
carry with you and some are even machine GLASS
washable (although there are those which
come with a miniature bottle brush that need PROS: CONS:
to be washed by hand), the likes of which can Easy to clean. Fragile. Heavy.
already be found in local establishments Coley Doesn’t retain
Bar and health food restaurant Fittie Sense. flavours or odours.
High volume businesses that like the Non-toxic.
disposable nature of plastic straws but hate the
wastefulness should consider alternatives like
paper or bamboo, which are biodegradable and
compostable. On top of that they offer quite a SILICONE
charming aesthetic, as paper straws come in
a variety of delightful designs, and a bamboo PROS: CONS:
straw would look pretty killer in a tiki cocktail Lightweight. Soft. Must be cleaned
(or even in a teh tarik for that matter). Easy to clean. well by hand.
Single-use plastic products are long-lasting Non-toxic.
and an inconsiderate use of resources. Items
like plastic bags, cutlery, cups, and even straws
need to be replaced by longer-lasting (or at the
very least eco-friendly) alternatives, as we are EDIBLE
currently faced with a sickening future where
there will be more plastic in the oceans than (cookie straw, bucatini pasta,
fish. Malaysia has joined countries like Kenya, celery straw, lemongrass straw)
Hong Kong, Rwanda and Macedonia by banning PROS: CONS:
free plastic bags (and Styrofoam containers) at Not wasteful. Perishable.
the beginning of 2017, and we can advance this Compostable. Can be fragile.
even further forward by taking initiative and
simply saying “tak nak straw”.

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