It was only in the last decade that people had realized the negative impacts of the excessive daily use of plastic straws. An obvious way to solve our problem with them is to stop using straws.
However, the use of straws has too many advantages that it wouldn’t be feasible to just forget about straws. A much better way to address this issue is to find a good alternative to plastic straws.
Among all the environment-friendly substitutes for a plastic straw, there is one that has the real potential of working– candy straw. Apparently, there are several reasons for you to choose candy straws over plastic straws.
What Are Candy Straws?
The tasty and colorful candy straws are made of sugary substances that are typically used to make a fondant or candy. They can be used while consuming your drinks during a meal. After eating, you can proceed to finish your drink and then eat the candy straw as some sort of dessert.
There is another kind of straw related to candy straws known as the sugarcane pulp straw. It is often mistaken as an edible candy straw but it isn’t.
The pulp or fiber is what remains after extracting the sugar from the cane. Sugarcane pulp is a waste material, so it is a good idea to reuse it to make a straw that can easily decompose.
You can just throw these kinds of straws straight into the bin. You won’t have to worry about how long these straws will remain sitting in the landfill.
Serious Problems Posed By Plastic Straws
Plastic materials have been offering us convenience since the 1950s. However, it was only recently that we realized how dire the situation would be if we turn everything into plastic. We saw that the accumulation of plastic waste increased dramatically from the 1960s to the early 2000s.
Plastic straws are among the plastic items that can easily be discarded after a single use. Billions of plastic drinking straws are given away in restaurants, canteens, and stores all over the world. For a single person who dines out at least once a day, just imagine how many plastic straws are used and then thrown away for one week.
As for plastic straws which are made of polypropylene, it will take hundreds of years before these materials break down into very fine particles.
Also, let’s say that the world can wait 500 years for a single plastic to decompose. The resulting debris from decomposed plastic is highly toxic. When plastics turn into microplastics, there is a high possibility for contamination of the groundwater as the microplastics penetrate through the soil layers. It endangers the health of all land-based creatures, including humans.
Even aquatic organisms will not be spared by the wrath of plastics. Waste materials that found their way into the ocean can float there for years, forming a waste island that blocks the sunlight needed by the living beings underwater to survive. Fish and aquatic birds are also likely to ingest plastics as there are just too many of them at sea,
Why Choose Candy Straws Over Plastic Straws?
As mentioned, candy straws are all-natural and can decompose fairly quickly in a landfill. It is made of sugar, so bacteria can easily break down the candy straw without causing any harm to the environment.
Unlike plastic straws, animals accidentally consuming candy straws will not suffer from toxicity. Of course, it is very possible that there will be nothing left of a candy straw after someone uses it for their drink. Being eaten whole is the most likely outcome of a candy straw after one person used it.
Last but not the least, candy straws are absolutely delicious. They come in different flavors and colors that make them even more appealing. You can enjoy them as much as you enjoy eating regular candies. You cannot think of any situation where you can actually help in saving the environment while satisfying your sweet tooth.
