People often talk about swapping out plastic straws for other materials to help the ocean/fish and the environment, but they also complain about paper straws falling apart easily. Other alternatives that are slightly more sturdy like straws made of straw don’t seem very common.
But do we even need straws? My first reaction was that any liquid can be drunk directly from the vessel it’s in, and straws just add another level of convenience. If we don’t want to use plastic straws and the alternatives mostly suck (actually all straws suck 🤓), why not just ditch straws entirely?
A lot of disabled people who need straws have difficulties controlling their muscles, so a metal straw is a good way to break their teeth, the same goes for wood and other hard straws. Paper straws are also unusable for them, as they break too quickly, and silicone straws are too floppy. Plastic straws really are the only suitable option for them.
Agave straws might be a sweet spot - they behave like plastic straws but are biodegradable.
That’s awesome!
BTW, just to make it clear; I’m not saying “Yay plastic, plastic is the only way!”. I am saying that the current alternatives aren’t suitable for all cases.
Personally, as a (mostly) able-bodied person, I carry reusable silicone straws with me.