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A comment on Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says. Parent comment

Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by tomp on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @09:20AM (#21136078)
I sometimes wonder if this "plastic straw" wasn't another of 4Chan's trolling attempts... Like, sure, reduce plastic straw usage, but most bars just replaced them with paper straws. That is obviously a stupidly wrong solution, the vast majority of the population can easily manage without straws entirely, so really it just shows that people don't actually care about the environment, it's all just virtue signalling...
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by MiroF on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @09:37AM (#21136251)
If people are really getting this upset over their straws being replaced we don't stand a chance at the level of consumption change needed to combat climate change
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by proaralyst on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @09:22AM (#21136109)
Why are paper straws the wrong solution? Even if they take a little more energy to produce they at least don't leave long-term waste behind.
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by groby_b on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @05:19PM (#21140848)
Because they don't work for people with disabilities. They dissolve, they're more easily bent, they're less resistant to accidental biting. They disintegrate even faster with hot beverages.
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by proaralyst on Monday October 07, 2019 @08:13AM (#21179851)
I've heard this argument before, and please forgive me if this is insensitive. Are people with disabilities eased by non-paper straws not able to supply their own? Perhaps steel ones that can be reused many times? I appreciate that allowances for disabilities must be made, but I can also understand that general popular use of plastic straws is harmful to the environment.
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by JoeAltmaier on Monday October 07, 2019 @08:18AM (#21179886)
Ok, then there's the rest of the objections.

Add to this, plastic straws are a trifling fraction of plastic pollution, and the made-up furor distracts from actual important issues.

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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by acdanger on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @09:26AM (#21136140)
There was a video on YouTube of a sea turtle with a straw lodged in its nose. I believe that was the spark the set off the straw-less movement.
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by allannienhuis on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @11:22AM (#21137429)
What does that have to do with the question? Using paper straws would address the type of problem you mentioned, as they're (too) quickly bio-degradable. They may not be the right direction to go in (why do we use so many straws in the first place?), but they do solve that type of impact to marine animals.
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by agent008t on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @04:01PM (#21140217)
Doesn't paper production require trees to be cut down?
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by undersuit on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @05:57PM (#21141195)
Make them buy trees that have been grown just for paper(they definitely exist), no one's going to cut down old growth for paper... seriously that's prime high margin furniture material.
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by black6 on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @11:00AM (#21137175)
At least plastic straws are multi-use. It's rare that a paper straw makes it through a single drink.
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by fredophile on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @01:24PM (#21138786)
When was the last time you saw someone re-use a plastic straw?
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by black6 on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @01:28PM (#21138827)
Last night the waiter topped off my iced tea three times and I continued to use the same plastic straw, whereas a single paper straw would not have lasted. It's a wetted time and solubility problem. Paper is water soluble--plastic is not.
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by fredophile on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @08:19PM (#21142263)
I've used bad paper straws that didn't last through a single glass but any I've used in the last year has been much more robust. A better question than paper or plastic would be to ask why your iced tea needed a straw at all.
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Re:Ocean plastic waste probably comes from ships, report says by omnimus on Wednesday October 02, 2019 @12:55PM (#21138512)
Same goes for plastic straw. Except maybe home use which is not very common.
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