Plastic Straws to be Discontinued on Celebrity

[Sascol]

Yeah, because people are throwing their straws out the airline windows and polluting the seas? :eek:

 

This is all a huge "PC" nothing burger dreamed up my environmental wackos. :rolleyes:

 

You, my friend are naive. Regardless of how straws and plastic in general end up in the environment, it happens. Any, yes ANY action that can be taken to remove any type of plastic from accumulating is a positive step. Why is it so hard for people to do the right thing? This planet is going to be a toxic mess in 50 years unless we curb our bad habits now. Straws are a SMALL part, but adding up a lot of small parts ends up being a big part. Wake up.

[bboop51]

Totally agree. Not sure why adults need to drink through a straw - is it for medical reasons ?

 

 

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If a drink is really cold, especially full of ice it kills my teeth. A straw really helps. Paper will be fine. I can't tell you how many times I have asked for a beverage (including water) with no ice (or a little ice) and it comes full of ice. Often it's easier just to use the straw :rolleyes: than to send it back

[BourbonNBluesLuvr]

Here's a brief article on a massive Pacific Ocean clean-up project that just launched:

 

The massive plastic-cleaning device invented by a 24-year-old is headed out to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — here's what the launch looked like

 

Kevin Loria

0m

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ocean Cleanup

SAN FRANCISCO — It's finally in the water.

For five years now, The Ocean Cleanup, an organization founded by 24-year-old Dutch innovator Boyan Slat, has been trying to create a system that can clean plastic out of the world's oceans.

There's a mind-boggling amount of plastic in the oceans, and that amount grows every day. At least 8 million metric tons of plastic pours into the sea every year — a number that's considered a low estimate, since it doesn't include commonly found debris like fishing nets. As this trash breaks down into tinier and tinier bits, much of it is eventually carried into one of five massive ocean regions, where plastic can be so concentrated that areas have garnered names like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

On Saturday, Slat's organization began the journey out to sea with their first official 2,000-foot-long plastic cleaning array, System 001. The ship the Maersk Launcher towed the device through the San Francisco Bay out under the Golden Gate Bridge, en route to a final testing site and then — if everything goes well — they'll head to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where the cleanup crew hopes that first system will be able to collect 50 tons of plastic in its first year.

Slat and colleagues hope The Ocean Cleanup's plastic-collecting arrays can help at least remove large debris from these swirling vortexes. They say their models show that with a full deployment of 60 arrays, they could be able to remove 50% of the garbage patch region's plastic within five years.

But so far, their technology is still unproven, and no one knows for sure whether it'll work as planned.

The Ocean Cleanup's plan is an inspiration for many, as an effort to try to confront what seems like an impossibly large and ugly problem.

But it's also received significant criticism from members of the scientific community who study plastics. Those researchers say the system may not be effective since it can't reach most ocean plastic that has started to break into tiny pieces and sink into the waters. They fear that it could have negative impacts on marine wildlife or could be broken up by harsh ocean conditions, or that it could be a distraction from stopping the overall use of plastics and the management that prevents them from getting into the ocean in the first place.

Slat says stopping plastic pollution in the first place needs to be a global priority, but that they believe cleaning up what's out there already has to be done as well. Yet he knows the world and the scientific community are watching as the system begins its first real test.

"It's still not proven technology and in the next months, it has to do what it has to do," he told Business Insider. The group has run models and simulations and they've tested systems in the water, but this is the first time a full size array will be assembled and hopefully functioning in the Pacific.

As he said Saturday, "models are models" — helpful, but still not perfect demonstrations of reality.

"It'll be an exciting six months," said Slat.

[Tiggertastic]

I’d like to be able to opt out of the delivery of flyers, I can let be without the Park west and other things that end up in the trash

 

 

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[Super_Tuscan]

I have to agree with Mr. Wine-O. This issue is a purely political. I read an article a few weeks ago that stated the United States is responsible for .02% of all the pollution in the worlds oceans. I grew up fishing offshore in South Florida and still fish the Bahamas occasionally. Very seldom do I see trash of any kind floating in the ocean. And if I do, it's usually something pretty big that has fallen off a cargo ship, like a 55 gallon drum or wooden pallets.

 

IMHO, banning straws is nothing more than left wing feel good legislation.

[rvmike]

Just off the Infinity, handing out plastic straws with every bar order. Heard no one complain.

[Wine-O]

Just off the Infinity, handing out plastic straws with every bar order. Heard no one complain.

 

Currently on Brilliance of the Seas, and they are handing out plastic straws with drinks. I didn't see any being thrown into the ocean.

 

It's all "Much ado about nothing."

[bEwAbG]

Currently on Brilliance of the Seas, and they are handing out plastic straws with drinks. I didn't see any being thrown into the ocean.

 

It's all "Much ado about nothing."

 

Can you point to any source that says anyone is trying to ban the use of straws altogether? Or that the reason to switch to non-plastic is about individuals throwing their straws in the ocean?

[Sascol]

Currently on Brilliance of the Seas, and they are handing out plastic straws with drinks. I didn't see any being thrown into the ocean.

 

Again, this has nothing to do with straws being "thrown into the ocean." This is NOT what this is about and Celebrity has never claimed that this is the reason they're doing it. Where have you seen this stated? Please show us.

 

This is because straws (and other types of waste) end up in places they should not be AND because of the long term environmental impacts of straws not breaking down and contributing to land fill space. Look up a video of a landfill. Easily HALF of the crap that ends up there does not need to be there.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Sascol

[davekathy]

Just off the Infinity (2 -9 September). Plastic straws (we don't use straws) and plastic water bottles still the norm.

[rvmike]

It is about the money . In Southern Ca. They banned plastic bags from supermarkets BUT for 10 cents each you can buy as many as you want. The box stores threatens to move out of my city BUT where given an exemption. How does this keep plastic out of the oceans. As always follow the money.

[Cruise Junky]

It is about the money . In Southern Ca. They banned plastic bags from supermarkets BUT for 10 cents each you can buy as many as you want. The box stores threatens to move out of my city BUT where given an exemption. How does this keep plastic out of the oceans. As always follow the money.

Do you think charging has cut down on the usage? It certainly has here. Most people shop with cloth bags.

[hcat]

We have no choice anymore where we live, local gov seems to get a cut of the bag fees.....If they are so bad, they should just ban them...We are given thin plastic ones for veggies and meat..we stock up on them and the free ones we get from stores in Fla!

 

Some of the bags folk bring with them are very nice but many also are quite grubby. All very unsanitary!

 

The recycled paper worked well but for some reason they are also subject to bag fees.,,follow the money on that!

[Floater4life]

Totally agree. Not sure why adults need to drink through a straw - is it for medical reasons ?

 

 

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A friend of mine gets nasty cold sores and often after drinking out of a glass when out. She always gets a straw. So there.

[DirtyDawg]

That computes to 224,658 straws per day for one restaurant chain. Not sure which chain it is and how they might have that many customers, per average day using said straws. Seems a bit inflated.:cool:

 

A & W Canada

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_(Canada)

 

A&W Canada has about 900 stores so 224,658 divided by 900 = 250 straws per store per day. Seems about right.

[hcat]

We have no choice anymore where we live, local gov seems to get a cut of the bag fees.....If they are so bad, they should just ban them...We are given thin plastic ones for veggies and meat..we stock up on them and the free ones we get from stores in Fla!

 

Some of the bags folk bring with them are very nice but many also are quite grubby. All very unsanitary!

 

The recycled paper worked well but for some reason they are also subject to bag fees.,,follow the money on that!

 

Forgot to mention, it appears gov collects a sales tax on the bag fees!

[DYKWIA]

Currently on Brilliance of the Seas, and they are handing out plastic straws with drinks. I didn't see any being thrown into the ocean.

 

It's all "Much ado about nothing"

 

 

So you didn't see any plastic straws being thrown into the ocean and once in the ocean I suspect you wouldn't spot them anyway? Unless you were watching the entire ship and everyone buying drinks for an extend in time this point is pretty irrelevant - a snap shot negative observation does not prove that a problem is insignificant.

 

A couple of weeks ago I found myself walking through an area in London renowned for illegal drug dealing. I didn't see any dealing going on, in the circumstances should I conclude that the tales of wrong doing are also Much ado about nothing, I think i'd be naive to do so.

Edited September 11, 2018 by DYKWIA

[Bo1953]

Forgot to mention, it appears gov collects a sales tax on the bag fees!

 

Nothing like double dipping to 'try' and make a point, if in fact they have one other than, they can....

 

 

bon voyage

[Wine-O]

So you didn't see any plastic straws being thrown into the ocean and once in the ocean I suspect you wouldn't spot them anyway? Unless you were watching the entire ship and everyone buying drinks for an extend in time this point is pretty irrelevant - a snap shot negative observation does not prove that a problem is insignificant.

 

A couple of weeks ago I found myself walking through an area in London renowned for illegal drug dealing. I didn't see any dealing going on, in the circumstances should I conclude that the tales of wrong doing are also Much ado about nothing, I think i'd be naive to do so.

 

So sorry you misunderstood my "tongue in cheek" comment and a bit of sarcasm. :rolleyes:

[rvmike]

Makes you wonder which elected official has a family member in the bag industry. I buy my plastic bags from Amazon .The cloth ones are disgusting.

[bEwAbG]

Makes you wonder which elected official has a family member in the bag industry. I buy my plastic bags from Amazon .The cloth ones are disgusting.

 

That legislation was put to a referendum that passed with a majority vote.

 

Bag fees are more about making the consumer make a conscious choice. We have one in DC. If I'm going shopping, I purposely take my own bags. If I forget and it's something I can carry, then I don't bother with getting a bag. If I need several bags, then I pay the extra 30 or 40 cents, most of which goes to programs that support environmental cleanup. Other people can make their own choices. Isn't that what everyone who is against any type of government regulation is always clamoring for? Funny how they get what they want but still complain anyway.

 

Anecdotally, I have a good friend who volunteers for watershed cleanup once or twice a year, and she says that the number of bags they collect from riverbanks has fallen dramatically.

[Wine-O]

 

Anecdotally, I have a good friend who volunteers for watershed cleanup once or twice a year, and she says that the number of bags they collect from riverbanks has fallen dramatically.

 

I wonder how many plastic straws they collected. :rolleyes: