First seen at Starbucks last year, a new kind of beverage cup topper seems to be taking off throughout the Quick Service Resto (QSR) sector. What’s better than a paper replacement for that environmentally-ugly plastic straw people are so worked up about? No straw at all!
The Starbucks strawless sippy cup. But the lid is still -plastic…
First, let me say that I bear no ill will toward people who want to rid the environment of disposable plastic. I wholeheartedly agree, we have to do this. There are already Sargasso Seas made up of billions of tonnes of castaway plastic churning in the middle of our oceans, the worst in the North Pacific.
Over the past year or so, we’ve heard impassioned cries from environmentalists warning that we have to get rid of the plastic or face the death of our oceans. The stuff is already imperiling ocean life as fish, whales and sea birds are constantly found dead with their stomachs crammed with plastic garbage. Plastic six-pack rings strangle birds and turtles. It’s a nasty situation. And researchers have found microplastics – tiny fragments of plastic – in more than 100 species of aquatic life.
Big players getting onboard
All the big Fast Food (QSR) outfits are getting onboard with the plastic straw ban, and have published manifestos containing promises to switch to paper within the next year or so. But now, following a lead set by Starbucks, Soda purveyors have started to switch from regular flat cup lids to something resembling a child’s sippy cup. No splashing or spilling – and no straw at all.
What boggles me is, why no one thought to just skip to the no-straw solution directly, rather than detouring through the seemingly needless ‘paper replacement straw’ stage.
One thing still needs attention, though
The new cup lids, as nifty as they are, are still made of plastic, themselves. And, like the plastic straws of old, they get used once and are tossed out. It’s a thorny issue, and one which I predict will be much more difficult to resolve if we want to rid the world and its oceans completely of single use food service plastic.
For my part, I like the old fashioned cardboard milk cartons which open to form a beak-shaped spout. That simple, inexpensive ‘technology’ could be employed in a new generation of beverage cups with zero plastic content. Anybody have any other suggestions?
4Oceans to the rescue
You’ve probably seen the commercials for the 4Ocean Ocean Plastic Recovery program. It’s a non-profit that pays local folks in seaside communities around the world to collect and properly dispose of waste plastic from the oceans.
The 4Oceans bracelet – Signature Edition
They offer a whole array of colours and sponsorships.
Their ‘business model’ is designed to fuel the group’s activities by giving ocean plastic a value – by recycling it into bracelets which are then sold at the organization’s website. Sure (US)$29.95 per bracelet sounds a little steep for something made out of recycled plastic and glass, but it’s the thought behind it that counts. For every bracelet you buy, you’re funding the removal of 1 lb. / 0.45 kg of plastic from the oceans.
But as bold as the 4Oceans initiative is, it won’t solve the problem by itself. If governments don’t get into the fight in a big way, we’ll need dozens of not hundreds of such organizations to clean up all the plastic before we choke on it.
~ Maggie J.