Free Republic

Paper drinking straws touted as eco-friendly alternatives to plastic may contain cancer-linked “forever chemicals,” a new study has found. Scientists detected per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) in the majority of straws they tested — with paper and bamboo-based straws ranking among the worst offenders, according to the study, published on Thursday in Food Additives and Contaminants. Known for their nonstick and waterproof properties, PFAS are common ingredients in a variety of household products, including certain cookware, food packaging, all-weather apparel and cosmetics.

The Multnomah County Health Department will begin distributing tin foil and straws this month to fentanyl smokers at sites across Portland, WW has learned. The “smoking supplies,” which also include glass pipes for smoking meth and crack as well as “snorting kits,” are part of a national effort to minimize the health consequences of drug use. Smoking is considered by many health experts a safer way of consuming hard drugs than injection, and government officials are now seeking to encourage users who haven’t already switched to do so—and to make it safer for those who already have. The Oregon Legislature...

A set of lengthy silver and gold tubes dug up from a famous grave in the the Caucuses have been found to represent the oldest surviving drinking straws, with the scientists behind the discovery believing they were used for communal beer consumption. The specimens are 5,000 years old and help deepen our understanding of drinking culture in ancient hierarchical societies. The set of eight tubes was unearthed back in 1987 in the Maikop Kurgan burial mound, a famous grave for Bronze Age elites in the Northern Caucasus. Researchers had since concluded the meter-plus-long tubes to be poles for a canopy,...

PORTLAND, Ore. - Just weeks ago, cities and even states across the U.S. were busy banning straws, limiting takeout containers and mandating that shoppers bring reusable bags or pay a small fee as the movement to eliminate single-use plastics took hold in mainstream America. What a difference a pandemic makes. In a matter of days, hard-won bans to reduce the use of plastics - and particularly plastic shopping sacks - across the U.S. have come under fire amid worries about the virus clinging to reusable bags, cups and straws. Governors in Massachusetts and Illinois have banned or strongly discouraged the...

This is the year that people all over the world demand meaningful action on the plastic pollution crisis. Millions have been inspired to act by the devastating impacts to our oceans and the marine animals in them. The heartbreaking video of a turtle with a straw stuck in its nose, the growing awareness of the garbage patches, and the imagery of beaches covered in plastic have shown us that we should not rely on this dangerous material that pollutes our environment forever. But the answer is not for corporations or governments to simply ban plastic straws or bags and walk...

I don’t know who said it, but whoever came up with the idea that “whatever liberals don’t want to ban, they want to make mandatory,” is absolutely accurate. You name it, they’ve got a plan to force everyone to do it or to rid the world of it. Nothing is too small to escape their crosshairs, not even straws. Straws are a favorite target, the banning of which is all the rage in Democrat-controlled cities across the country. They pat themselves on the back so hard over this Jihad against straws that you’d think they were giving themselves the Heimlich...

London (CNN) - McDonald's has reportedly admitted that its new paper straws, rolled out last year to help "protect the environment," can't be recycled - unlike the plastic versions they replaced. **SNIP** But the fast food giant acknowledged on Monday that the new versions are too thick to be processed by its recyclers. "While the materials are recyclable, their current thickness makes it difficult for them to be processed by our waste solution providers, who also help us recycle our paper cups," a McDonald's spokesman told the UK's Press Association news agency.

The biggest war on plastic is in New Jersey and bags, straws may not survive

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Four Albuquerque City Councilors are pushing to limit the use of plastic bags, straws and foam containers in the state’s largest city. Councilors Isaac Benton, Cynthia Borrego, Pat Davis and Diane Gibson, all Democrats, will tonight introduce the Albuquerque Clean & Green Retail Ordinance in an effort to “protect and enhance the city’s unique and precious environment, wildlife and beauty through the reduction of single-use non-compostable or non-recyclable bags, straws and containers and to encourage the use of reusable or sustainable options.” The law would prohibit retailers from providing customers single-use plastic bags or foam containers for...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WTVD) -- McDonald's worker Yasmine James remains on leave after a brawl with a customer, allegedly about a straw, was caught on camera. The viral video shows the customer, Daniel Taylor, reach over the counter and grab James by the shirt. James responded by punching Taylor several times. He is facing battery charges. James said she's not physically hurt, but emotionally scarred after being left to defend herself. "I didn't have any control over my body when he grabbed me," James said. "Like, I'm scared. Like, why are you grabbing me? I just didn't understand his intentions."...

The District of Columbia is set to implement a new ban on single-use plastic straws and coffee stirrers. Poised to take effect Jan. 1, the prohibition is not limited only to restaurants and bars, but also churches, day care centers, and other entities in the city. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is recommending the use instead of alternative items made from hay, bamboo, glass, paper or stainless steel. “@MayorBowser’s list of recyclables and compostables now requires the use of compostable and/or reusable straws and stirrers when selling food or beverages in the District. Enforcement begins January 1, 2019!” the D.C. Department...

The European Union Parliament has voted to ban single-use plastics. Parliament, the EU’s legislative body comprised of 751 elected members (MEPs), voted 571-53 in favor of the bill. Banned items will include plastic plates, cutlery, and straws, and the proposal also calls for a reduction in the use of other single-use food and beverage containers such as plastic cups, according to the BBC. The European Commission, which proposes legislation to the EU Parliament, put forward the ban in May in response to ongoing public awareness of and outcry against plastic pollution, particularly in the world’s oceans. The MEP behind the...

Insanity: Despite the fact that you could bury the world’s trash in a minuscule portion of the Earth, Left-wing environmental wackos are hell-bent on getting as many modern conveniences banned or regulated as possible. In recent months they’ve managed to convince liberal lawmakers and policymakers that plastic straws will destroy the planet if they are not banned from at least some major cities. Now these same goofballs are coming after another party favorite: Balloons.

Here are a few things that are effectively legal in San Francisco: drugs, public defecation and shoplifting. And here are some of the things that are banned or will be banned in the City by the Bay. Straws. Fur coats. Bottled water. Eating at work. Vaping liquids. Upholstered furniture. Plastic bags. Pet stores. Electric scooters. Coffee cups and packing peanuts. Tropical fish. The McDonald’s Happy Meal. If you can think of something, San Francisco has already banned it. Or will be banning it soon. North Korea with a tech industry and some leftover Victorian architecture (which it’s banning tour buses...

A California coastal city has become the latest municipality to ban plastic straws, enacting what is potentially the strictest plastic prohibition in the country. Santa Barbara earlier this month passed the ordinance authorizing hefty fines and even a possible jail sentence for violators who dole out plastic straws at restaurants, bars and other food establishments. According to the ordinance, violators on their first offense will be given a written warning notice. But the second time a purveyor of plastic straws defies the ban is when the heavy hand of the law could clamp down. In that case, the ordinance cites...

A Reason investigation reveals that the coffee giant's new cold drink lids use more plastic than the old straw/lid combo. Right now, Starbucks patrons are topping most of their cold drinks with either 3.23 grams or 3.55 grams of plastic product, depending on whether they pair their lid with a small or large straw. The new nitro lids meanwhile weigh either 3.55 or 4.11 grams, depending again on lid size. (I got these results by measuring Starbucks' plastic straws and lids on two seperate scales, both of which gave me the same results.) This means customers are at best breaking...

Starbucks, the nation's largest food and drink retailer, announced on Monday that it would be going strawless.... As is to be expected, Starbucks' decision was greeted with universal adulation.... Yet missing from this fanfare was the inconvenient fact that by ditching plastic straws, Starbucks will actually be increasing its plastic use. As it turns out, the new nitro lids that Starbucks is leaning on to replace straws are made up of more plastic than the company's current lid/straw combination.

Starbucks is going strawless. The coffee company announced Monday that it will phase out plastic straws from all of its stores by 2020. The changes will help Starbucks (SBUX) eliminate more than 1 billion plastic straws per year, the company said. Plastic straws contribute to ocean pollution and pose a danger to marine life. Some governments have begun banning them. To eliminate straws, Starbucks is transitioning from the flat, plastic lids that require them, to ones that feature a raised lip you can drink from. The new designs have drawn comparisons to an adult "sippy cup." Frappuccino drinks will still...

Washington (AFP) - Seattle has become the first major US city to ban plastic straws and utensils in its eateries, a victory for environmentalists that will be tough to replicate elsewhere in the United States.

Ian Calderon wants restaurateurs to think long and hard before giving you a straw. Calderon, the Democratic majority leader in California's lower house, has introduced a bill to stop sit-down restaurants from offering customers straws with their beverages unless they specifically request one. Under Calderon's law, a waiter who serves a drink with an unrequested straw in it would face up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. "We need to create awareness around the issue of one-time use plastic straws and its detrimental effects on our landfills, waterways, and oceans," Calderon explained in a...