Plastic straws weigh hardly anything at all. Even those thick smoothie straws weigh just a gram, but most weigh half that, which is about as much as a raisin or two.
So can it really matter that so many drinks you order out — water, soda, smoothies, even coffee — come with a straw?
Sure, it’s plastic, but how much can a straw really matter?
By one estimate, in the U.S., we use 30,000 tons of straws a year. It’s safe to say that basically zero get recycled, but in the grand scheme of plastic pollution, it’s hardly more than a drop in the ocean. And yet…
Seabirds, sea turtles, fish, and marine mammals like dolphins sometimes swallow straws — you may have seen the famous photo of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose.
Straws can sometimes cause severe, even deadly, damage to creatures, such as blocking the digestive tract or causing malnutrition.
And just like any plastic let loose in the environment, plastic straws break down over time into microplastics, which are now found virtually everywhere: in the air and drinking water, in soil, the ocean, food and cosmetics, and in newborn babies’ brains.
Will your saying “no straw, please” when you order a drink change the world?
Even the question is laughable.
But saying “no straw, please” can spark a conversation — with the friends you’re out with, with the server, with the family at the next table.
Even if all it does is nudge you to be a little more mindful every day of our beautiful, one-and-only, fragile planet, that’s pretty awesome too.
Not everyone can give up single-use straws. For people with swallowing disorders, or who can’t open their mouths well, or whose mobility prevents them from lifting a glass or controlling head and neck movement — plastic straws can be a lifesaver.
Re-usable straws can help, too, but in many situations it’s not possible to sterilize them every time, creating a separate set of problems.
Even more reason to say “no straw, please” if you are capable of drinking without one!
Visit the Brodhead Protecting Clean Water Together webpage for more articles in this series.
The Brodhead Watershed Association protects water quality and quantity throughout our area. Get involved! Become a member!
Related Articles This Week:
-- Chesapeake Bay Watershed Executive Council Approves Revised Restoration Agreement; Gov. Shapiro Elected Chair [PaEN]
-- DEP Signs Agreement To Resolve Water Pollution Violations At US Steel Irvin Plant In Allegheny County Following Citizen Complaints; $135,000 Penalty Assessed [PaEN]
-- DEP Awards $168,000 In Lake Erie Coastal Zone Grants, $580,000 In Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone Grants To Protect And Restore Coastal Resources [PaEN]
-- Natural Resources Conservation Service-PA: Emergency Watershed Protection Program Helps Northern PA Residents After Tropical Storm Debby [PaEN]
-- Water At Risk: Why Brodhead Watershed Association Exists In Monroe County And Deserves Your Support - By Carol Hillestad for Brodhead Watershed Association [PaEN]
-- Protecting Clean Water Together: Your Small Choices Matter - By Carol Hillestad for Brodhead Watershed Association, Monroe County [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- PA Capital-Star: Chesapeake Bay Executive Council Poised To Study Inclusion Of Recognized Native American Tribes
-- The Citizens Voice: Eastern PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation Receives Grant To Protect, Restore Local Watersheds [PDF of Article]
-- StateCollege.com: Centre Conservation District Presents Farm Conservation Awards
-- TribLive: Greensburg Signs Most Easements For Northmont Flood Control Project In Westmoreland
-- City & State PA: Private Acquisition Of Municipal Water/Wastewater Systems Is Under New Spotlight As America Water - Essential Utilities Water Company Giants Plan To Merge
[Posted: December 1, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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