California lawmaker wants to prohibit restaurants from providing plastic straws unless requested

[VirtualLarry]

Jail time seems a bit harsh... but Cali has never been known for the reasonableness of their legislation.

I agree, plastic straws are an environmental hazard. How much is debatable. (And I do love my Large Rootbeer at a fast food joint.)

After telling an older friend about this news item, he informed me that straws used to be made out of paper.... you know, that recyclable, bio-degradable stuff, that it seems that modern society forgot about.

 

[yllus]

so i laugh at a stupid ass law and you equate that to not caring about the environment BUT FAST FOOD JOINTS ARE EXEMPT ??? lol.... yea what ever floats your boat bitch.

how about instead of adding another damn law on the books that is pretty much impossible to enforce and threatens to throw people in jail. why not make a PSA awareness program just to make people aware of the problem.

Honestly though how hilarious will it be to interview a guy and ask him if he has a criminal record and he says "Well I was in San Quentin for a year for insisting this guy use a straw with his Crystal Coke."

 

[ivwshane]

If we had a competent federal government they would address the issue of plastic trash. I'm actually surprised there aren't companies picking up the plastic trash from the massive garbage patch in the sea. Free, clean plastics? Why wouldn't you?

 

[pmv]

Americans evidently use an average of 68 Kilos (i.e. ~150 lbs) of plastic per person per year. How much of that 150 lbs is the 500 straws used by that average person? I'd be surprised if that many straws weighs more than a few ounces.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/270312/consumption-of-plastic-materials-per-capita-since-1980/

One source (a listing on amazon) says a plastic straw weighs about 3 grams. So 500 would be 1.5kg - quite a bit more than a few ounces and not an insignificant proportion of that 68kg.

(That calculation has now convinced me that this measure probably is worth doing)

I'm amazed though that people apparently use an average of [by that figure, more than...] one straw a day. I'm pretty sure the last time I used one was more than a year ago (around when subway stopped doing the free drink with a sandwich offer!). When are people using all these straws? Surely every American doesn't get a fast food store drink every day?

 

[IronWing]

One source (a listing on amazon) says a plastic straw weighs about 3 grams. So 500 would be 1.5kg - quite a bit more than a few ounces and not an insignificant proportion of that 68kg.

I'm amazed though that people apparently use an average of [by that figure, more than...] one straw a day. I'm pretty sure the last time I used one was more than a year ago (around when subway stopped doing the free drink with a sandwich offer!). When are people using all these straws? Surely every American doesn't get a fast food store drink every day?

I think the point of this proposed legislation is that people don't use that many straws. The straws are handed out and then thrown away unused, a waste of resources. If restaurants only provided straws to people who request them then fewer would be wasted.

I drink a lot of pop. I usually get several months out of a plastic cup/straw before mold in the straw inspires me to get a new one.

 

[woolfe9998]

One source (a listing on amazon) says a plastic straw weighs about 3 grams. So 500 would be 1.5kg - quite a bit more than a few ounces and not an insignificant proportion of that 68kg.

(That calculation has now convinced me that this measure probably is worth doing)

I'm amazed though that people apparently use an average of [by that figure, more than...] one straw a day. I'm pretty sure the last time I used one was more than a year ago (around when subway stopped doing the free drink with a sandwich offer!). When are people using all these straws? Surely every American doesn't get a fast food store drink every day?

I don't understand it either. No way the average American eats at some kind of restaurant 1.5 times per day. Maybe it's all the people snorting things through them.

 

[pmv]

I don't understand it either. No way the average American eats at some kind of restaurant 1.5 times per day. Maybe it's all the people snorting things through them.

Yeah, I'm suspicious where the figure of 500 comes from and whether it is accurate. Unless a huge number are somehow just getting thrown away unused due to corporate stock management errors.

 

[kage69]

With how much plastic trash we have destroying our environment, seems like a reasonable step. I'd advocate for stronger measures actually.

And if that offends or enrages the entitled American tradition of lazy consumerism, I really don't give a shit.

 

[IronWing]

And if that offends or enrages the entitled American tradition of lazy consumerism, I really don't give a shit.

You can have my straw when you can pry it from my cold dead nostril.

 

[pmv]

Honestly though how hilarious will it be to interview a guy and ask him if he has a criminal record and he says "Well I was in San Quentin for a year for insisting this guy use a straw with his Crystal Coke."

"I shared a cell with a guy who cut the label off his mattress"

 

[jackstar7]

Good. Keep taking steps to decrease fossil fuel consumption.

 

[zinfamous]

wow 4 pages.

So, president Dump is all over the place waiving necessary environmental protections across the country and we learn that he rather directly tried to obstruct justice (again) by ordering the firing of Mueller, and here we need to discuss what some crazy democrat in CA is trying to do to our precious straws.

How appropriate, then, that the latest strawman is literally made of (plastic) straws.

 

[Moonbeam]

Synthetic materials are killing life on earth. The money they save, the utility they offer mean there is no way to save ourselves from extinction. It's just like abandoning nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. We can't because we need the jobs. The economy would collapse and live would become much more inconvenient or even miserable if we were to prevent our own extinction. We can all be sure that we won't be the last to go so it's OK.

No use worrying about our self destruction since we couldn't possibly have it any other way. Fuck the children of the future. Get yours now. And besides, who even thinks about it? How many times does it happen to you that in talking to a loved one about how I love the material my nice warm shirt is made of, they turn and tell you that the fibers it is made of are filling up the ocean in a way that is starting to kill all the fish. I'm really sorry about that because I couldn't pick up on that fact by the way it feels against my skin. But you wouldn't think that killing the fish in the world's oceans would be legal.

What a mess. The fibers won't degrade and if I burn it there will be toxic smoke.

 

[IronWing]

wow 4 pages.

So, president Dump is all over the place waiving necessary environmental protections across the country and we learn that he rather directly tried to obstruct justice (again) by ordering the firing of Mueller, and here we need to discuss what some crazy democrat in CA is trying to do to our precious straws.

How appropriate, then, that the latest strawman is literally made of (plastic) straws.

Your post sucks.

 

[Moonbeam]

I believe the laws in California were changed owing to drought that restaurants only provide water on request rather than sitting down with automatic full glasses for everyone in the party. I spent months of rage and months more in deep mourning getting over this, but now I am strangely delighted to have a water glass before me only when I ask. The real disaster with straws has already happened. The paper wrapper is made to explode before you can send it careening through the restaurant by blowing it off the straw end. Fuck the one in a million people who get hit in the eye.

 

[dank69]

One source (a listing on amazon) says a plastic straw weighs about 3 grams. So 500 would be 1.5kg - quite a bit more than a few ounces and not an insignificant proportion of that 68kg.

(That calculation has now convinced me that this measure probably is worth doing)

I'm amazed though that people apparently use an average of [by that figure, more than...] one straw a day. I'm pretty sure the last time I used one was more than a year ago (around when subway stopped doing the free drink with a sandwich offer!). When are people using all these straws? Surely every American doesn't get a fast food store drink every day?

It seems that Google has failed to provide an answer to how much a straw weighs. There is no way they are 3 grams each. I found a wiki answer that said they are an ounce and a half each, lol. What is that? Like 42 grams? Bunch of crazies on the internet it seems. Anyway, they have to be less than a gram. Can't imaging they would even register on a standard kitchen scale. I may have to try and find out for myself the next time I have one.

 

[zinfamous]

It seems that Google has failed to provide an answer to how much a straw weighs. There is no way they are 3 grams each. I found a wiki answer that said they are an ounce and a half each, lol. What is that? Like 42 grams? Bunch of crazies on the internet it seems. Anyway, they have to be less than a gram. Can't imaging they would even register on a standard kitchen scale. I may have to try and find out for myself the next time I have one.

oh shit, I have a microgram sensitive scale a few feet away from me. will report back shortly if I can find a straw

 

[dank69]

oh shit, I have a microgram sensitive scale a few feet away from me. will report back shortly if I can find a straw

Do it for science, man!

 

[zinfamous]

OK, best I could do right now, tested the same "straw" on 2 of our scales.

I couldn't find a consumer straw, but we have these polypropylene spatulas that we use for dispensing reagents to make buffers. It's a "fancy" straw.
https://assets.fishersci.com/TFS-Assets/CCG/product-images/F203456~p.eps-650.jpg

Obviously these are a good bit heavier than a consumer straws (which probably made from the same class of polystyrene used to make those clear drinking cups?), and larger. The material clearly has more mass to the touch, and is far stiffer.

The "simple" scale (100mg):
1.0g

Our ultra sensitive scale, (down to ~100ug):
947.7mg

Hmm, I'm going to scour the breakroom, there must be something...

EDIT: I found a coffee-stirrer in the breakroom. (Standard, narrow, black coffee stirrer):

236.3mg

 

[OutHouse]

Honestly though how hilarious will it be to interview a guy and ask him if he has a criminal record and he says "Well I was in San Quentin for a year for insisting this guy use a straw with his Crystal Coke."

Yea hardcore straw gangsta doin time...

 

[pmv]

wow 4 pages.

So, president Dump is all over the place waiving necessary environmental protections across the country and we learn that he rather directly tried to obstruct justice (again) by ordering the firing of Mueller, and here we need to discuss what some crazy democrat in CA is trying to do to our precious straws.

How appropriate, then, that the latest strawman is literally made of (plastic) straws.

Hmph, I don't think the proposal is defacto crazy. Though as far as I'm concerned a four-page thread is justified by the desire to work out whether it makes sense or not. It doesn't seem unreasonable to reduce plastic waste one item at a time by means of such levies. The plastic bag levy here, for example, seems to have had a net beneficial effect, even though it seemed a bit of a tokenist gesture.

But I'm just not sure how significant this particular issue is. Plus I'm always up for being shocked at how much crap food other people consume, as it helps me feel better about myself and my various lifestyle failings.

 

[shortylickens]

I see no problem here. We really should be doing something about our excessive use of plastic for disposable items. If people want a straw they can ask for one.

I'm pretty sure fast food joints go thru WAY more straws than restaurants. And they arent part of the ban.

 

[pcgeek11]

There is already a solution to this "problem":

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/9449/biodegradable-compostable-straws.html

https://www.ecoproductsstore.com/compostable_straws.html

https://greenpaperproducts.com/compostable-straws.aspx

https://www.aardvarkstraws.com/

Why don't they just outlaw non-biodegradable straws entirely.

 

[uclaLabrat]

It seems that Google has failed to provide an answer to how much a straw weighs. There is no way they are 3 grams each. I found a wiki answer that said they are an ounce and a half each, lol. What is that? Like 42 grams? Bunch of crazies on the internet it seems. Anyway, they have to be less than a gram. Can't imaging they would even register on a standard kitchen scale. I may have to try and find out for myself the next time I have one.

A single packet of sugar contains roughly 10 g of sugar, I've weighed it before. 3 g per straw seems about right to me.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Dammit, now I wanna weigh one lol