Back to the old days - paper drinking straws!
I was in the US recently, and while visiting my mother I went to one of the SeaWorld theme parks. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I did, especially when I saw the price (fifty bucks!) and surrounded by hordes of schoolkids and their teachers, but it was a really good day, aided by the fact that the blazing sun had relented and it was partly cloudy all day.
One of the things that really brightened my time there was the discovery that apart from having recycling containers next to nearly every trash bin, the food places there served drinks with paper straws. Yeah - paper straws! I couldn’t believe it, really, and when I I checked out the web site printed on the wrapper. The company that provided these particular straws is the Aardvark Paper Straw company, based in the US and the manufacturers of the first paper drinking straws back in 1888.
The straws are marketed to various industries that are (or should be) concerned about waste and the environment, but also to zoos and animal theme parks, where plastic straws could seriously harm any animals that were to eat a straw.
Naturally, I think this is a great idea - it keeps plastic out of landfills, protects animals and is a great talking point (like this post) about environmental awareness. Now, if only those plastic straws weren’t so damn cheap to make and buy, we’d have more companies using the original paper version…
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