The straw as we know it today made its first appearance about 7,000 years ago. Tomb frescoes of the Sumer civilisation — arguably one of the first civilisations of the world — depict social elites of the day drinking beer with long, hollow sticks. Subsequently, drinking tubes made of metal and precious stones have been discovered in the tombs. Miles away in ancient China, people in the Northern Wei Dynasty (300-500 AD) also used the hollow stalks of plants to make straws for drinking wine.
In the 16th century, South Americans began using a special straw, the bombilla, to drink yerba mate, a tea infusion which contained so many shreds of leaves and stalks that they devised a tube of silver or bronze with a filter at the end to strain the solids. The bombilla is still widely used today.
In the 16th century, South Americans began using a special straw, the bombilla, to drink yerba mate, a tea infusion which contained so many shreds of leaves and stalks that they devised a tube of silver or bronze with a filter at the end to strain the solids. The bombilla is still widely used today.
A bombilla used to strain yerba mate as you drink it. (Pic: ShutterStock)
The Birth Of Paper Straws
Mass-produced straws did not come to prominence until the 1800s when the rye straw was invented. The grass was bleached and cut before further rinsing and binding and then sold for drinking with. The rye straw, with its tendency to disintegrate quickly and leave a residue in the drink, quickly fell out of fashion and was replaced by the paper straw, invented by an American named Marvin Stone.
Stone was born into a family that manufactured cylindrical objects such as cigarette rollers and pen holders. Discontent with using rye straws, he began to roll paper into a tube along the surface of a pencil, fixing the ends with glue and finally removing the pencil to create the paper straw. He later got a patent for the design. The paper straw took America by storm, with daily production reaching two million at its peak.
The Reign Of The Plastic Straw
The paper straw gradually lost favour in the 1960s as more took to its plastic counterpart. Plastic straws didn’t tamper with the flavour of drinks and didn’t dissolve in liquids. Moreover, it could be mass produced at very low costs. Its rise also coincided with another development — as refrigerators became more commonplace, so did chilled beverages best enjoyed when sipped from a straw.
Mass-produced straws did not come to prominence until the 1800s when the rye straw was invented. The grass was bleached and cut before further rinsing and binding and then sold for drinking with. The rye straw, with its tendency to disintegrate quickly and leave a residue in the drink, quickly fell out of fashion and was replaced by the paper straw, invented by an American named Marvin Stone.
Stone was born into a family that manufactured cylindrical objects such as cigarette rollers and pen holders. Discontent with using rye straws, he began to roll paper into a tube along the surface of a pencil, fixing the ends with glue and finally removing the pencil to create the paper straw. He later got a patent for the design. The paper straw took America by storm, with daily production reaching two million at its peak.
The Reign Of The Plastic Straw
The paper straw gradually lost favour in the 1960s as more took to its plastic counterpart. Plastic straws didn’t tamper with the flavour of drinks and didn’t dissolve in liquids. Moreover, it could be mass produced at very low costs. Its rise also coincided with another development — as refrigerators became more commonplace, so did chilled beverages best enjoyed when sipped from a straw.
Damage On The Environment
Half a century of straw sipping later, a serious problem began to emerge. The problem with straws is one of sheer volume: Americans alone use an estimated half a billion of plastic straws every day. The large amount of plastic waste causes immense pressure to our ecosystem.
The Californian Coastal Commission points out that plastic straws were the sixth most common garbage found in local beaches between 1988 and 2016. Since plastic isn’t biodegradable, its final destination is often the landfill, or even worse, the ocean, where it does irreparable damage to nature.
Half a century of straw sipping later, a serious problem began to emerge. The problem with straws is one of sheer volume: Americans alone use an estimated half a billion of plastic straws every day. The large amount of plastic waste causes immense pressure to our ecosystem.
The Californian Coastal Commission points out that plastic straws were the sixth most common garbage found in local beaches between 1988 and 2016. Since plastic isn’t biodegradable, its final destination is often the landfill, or even worse, the ocean, where it does irreparable damage to nature.
Last year, a sea turtle was discovered with a plastic straw stuck in its nostril. As its rescuer attempted to pull the straw out, the sea turtle bled and struggled violently while crying for help. The episode went viral online and was used as rallying cry for the anti-straw movement that has taken 2018 by storm. Environment organisations like The Last Plastic Straw, Be Straw Free and Strawwars.org rode the wave of public consciousness and urged the world to reduce its use of plastic straws.
Greener Alternatives
Straw activists have also taken to appealing directly to the food and beverage industry. More and more restaurants and dining groups have participated in the No Straw Campaign over the last few years. In Singapore, the Koufu foodcourt at Singapore Management University stopped using plastic straws and introduced biodegradable takeaway packaging. In June, six hotels in Singapore, including Orchard Hotel and Copthorne King’s Hotel, pledged to eliminate all single-use plastics over the next one year. This was followed by KFC which stopped offering plastic straws to customers in all its outlets across Singapore.
Greener Alternatives
Straw activists have also taken to appealing directly to the food and beverage industry. More and more restaurants and dining groups have participated in the No Straw Campaign over the last few years. In Singapore, the Koufu foodcourt at Singapore Management University stopped using plastic straws and introduced biodegradable takeaway packaging. In June, six hotels in Singapore, including Orchard Hotel and Copthorne King’s Hotel, pledged to eliminate all single-use plastics over the next one year. This was followed by KFC which stopped offering plastic straws to customers in all its outlets across Singapore.
Greener alternatives to single-use plastic straws have come to the fore (Pic: ShutterStock)
As non-biodegradable plastic straws are being phased out, alternative options have risen to the fore. Among these are products like the bamboo straw made by Brush With Bamboo and Strawesome’s straws made of glass.
In Singapore, online stores selling metal and bamboo straws have also surfaced, such as Seastainable Co and The Sustainability Project. Zero-waste grocery store UnPackt has started stocking metal, glass and even rubber straws in all shapes and sizes — straight, bendy and even extra-wide for bubble tea. These are affordable, chic and, most importantly, reusable options that reduce dependency on single-use plastics.
In Singapore, online stores selling metal and bamboo straws have also surfaced, such as Seastainable Co and The Sustainability Project. Zero-waste grocery store UnPackt has started stocking metal, glass and even rubber straws in all shapes and sizes — straight, bendy and even extra-wide for bubble tea. These are affordable, chic and, most importantly, reusable options that reduce dependency on single-use plastics.
This article was written by Joe Chan and translated by Vincent Leung. Click here to read the original version of this story.
