Do You Really Need That Straw?

Protecting our planet for future generations starts with small, everyday choices. One easy change you can make today is eliminating single-use plastic straws from your routine. While it may seem like a minor adjustment, their environmental impact is greater than you might think.

If you only use a few straws occasionally, it may not feel like your actions contribute to pollution. However, over a lifetime, the average person is estimated to use around 38,000 straws. Each day, Americans use between 170-390 million disposable plastic straws—enough to circle the Earth almost twice. Once discarded, plastic straws are difficult to recycle. Items smaller than two inches in diameter often slip through sorting machinery at recycling facilities, meaning most straws end up in landfills. Due to their lightweight nature, many straws are blown out of trash bins and transport trucks, eventually making their way into waterways and, ultimately, the ocean. By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish (by weight) according to The World Economic Forum.

Perhaps the most frustrating fact? Disposable plastic straws are typically used for less than 20 minutes before being tossed away—creating long-lasting waste for a moment of convenience.

Though many people focus on the harmful effects of plastic straws once they’re disposed of, the harm actually begins before they’re even created. Plastic straws are made from crude oil or petroleum, a limited resource. Drilling and transporting oil has led to catastrophic oil spills that threaten water quality and harm wildlife. The process of transforming crude oil into petrochemicals also releases harmful toxins into the air, and workers are exposed to chemicals that are known carcinogens. Plastic’s damage to the health of workers, communities, and our planet is wide-reaching.

In addition to filling up our landfills where they can take hundreds of years to decompose, plastic straws are also polluting our oceans in overwhelming amounts. Each year, approximately eight million tons of plastic enter the ocean, with plastic straws accounting for about 0.025%—equivalent to roughly 2,000 tons. Longstanding estimates indicate that this plastic pollution contributes to the deaths of over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals each year as a result of ingested plastic.

If you like to sip beverages such as smoothies or iced coffee through a straw, get your hands on some reusable straws. Avoiding disposables is always the best choice, since you save energy and water that would be used to produce the straws. You can find reusable straws made from bamboo, glass or metal. Our purchasing choices ultimately determine what products are produced - so going straw-free makes a real difference!

World Centric’s Kraft Paper Straws are manufactured utilizing FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) certified kraft paper that meets strict standards for environmental and social responsibility. These standards help ensure long-term protection of forests around the world. Unlike some paper straws on the market, our kraft paper straws are durable and won’t fall apart in liquids. World Centric straws are phthalates, BPA, and chlorine bleach free and have no add PFAS. They are USDA BioBased certified and meet ASTM standards for industrial composting, where facilities are available.

Straws may be small, but they’re just the beginning of a growing movement to rethink “single-use” disposables. With our kraft paper straws, we’re moving towards a future where every sip is sustainable, reducing plastic waste and protecting our planet for generations to come.