My addiction to fountain drinks

I admit it, I have a problem. I drink a lot of soda, far too much, and fountain drinks are my weakness. I have managed to cut back, but not eliminate my soda intake. I have been very successful at avoiding polystyrene cups and by staying away from the drive through I am able to use reusable cups. Not plastic free, but I have definitely reduced my plastic use considerably!

Next on my list is drinking straws. With 500 million straws being used every day in the US, I decided to join the 2018 plastic straw ban bandwagon.

Plastic straws are among the top 10 plastics found in our oceans. They are a single use non recyclable plastic. We use them for only minutes and then toss them.

There has been a lot of talk about straws, including how banning plastic straws is just a band aid. My thoughts? “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Ok, those are Lao Tzu’s words, but they are important to remember. Being aware of my straw use has helped me be more aware of plastics in general. Reducing my use of straws has lead to my curbing my plastic cup use and has gotten me to examine just how much plastic is in my everyday life.

I’ve tried both paper and compostable straws made from corn.

Paper straws have come a long way, they actually hold up pretty well. The problem? They are hard to find locally and although a better option, still wasteful considering my soda consumption – yes, I know it isn’t good for me, don’t judge.

The compostable straws were great, I found them locally and put a pack in my car, my kids cars and the house. Making sure they were easy to access helped increase our use. The New Mexico heat caused them to melt in the cars and created my own crazy straws, which was kind of fun. The big drawback is that they require industrial composting as a home compost doesn’t reach the temperatures needed. That meant collecting used straws and taking them to the composter.

I’ve been hesitant to try the reusable straws as I was worried about keeping them clean, as well as having them readily available. Then I found these on Amazon. I love that they are 10.5 inches, which means I won’t lose them in my cups and that they come with a brush for cleaning. A Christmas gift card to Amazon means I can order another 2 sets for my kids and a set of straw carrying cases

Any other soda addicts out there with tips on going plastic free?

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