Why Glass Cocktail Straws are Better than Plastic?

Amateur bartenders and drink enthusiasts are spread wide across the internet in todays world, with many of them taking on the hobby as a result of the pandemic and due to a love for craft cocktails. The craft cocktail industry is more than just a hobby these days for many, and has given many individuals a newfound respect for the enjoyment of high quality alcohols and spirits. One of the biggest aspects of the craft cocktail industry is the cocktail straw, no drink is complete without a solid apparatus to drink it with! And if you ask the owner of popular NYC food blog Jillion Trinkets, she knows this all too well. After starting her blog as a way to communicate her favorite recipes, and opinions on fashion and more to her friends and family, Spirulina Sims’ Jillion Trinkets reached a whole new audience and high level of engagement. Ironically, one of the biggest topics of conversation that reached the masses from her blog was the idea of the glass cocktail straws and why they are much better to use than conventional plastic drinking straws which have recently fallen out of favor with many restaurants and bars. This is somewhat of a controversial topic amongst many drink and spirit enthusiasts, as some individuals are too set in their ways and will always be loyal to a disposable plastic straw and not really see the value in cocktail glass straws. In this article, we will be going over the debate and seeing which side we can fall on. 

The Issue with Plastic Straws

As the years go by, and humanity becomes more aware of the footprint and impact it has on its home planet, we are becoming more and more environmentally friendly and taking a number of steps to reduce the harm we are causing to our planet. The plastic straw versus glass cocktail straw debate cuts right at the heart of such a topic. Did you know that we currently throw away over 500 million plastic straws every single day on this planet, that is literally enough to fill nearly 50 extra large school busses each and every year! And what’s even worse about that is the fact that these straws are not currently recyclable or biodegradable. This has a devastating effect on the oceans, landfills, land, the planet, and the people on the planet over time. Many don’t understand what this actually means when it comes to getting their cocktail glass with straw at the bar, but this means that these straws will literally never go away and simply turn into a mess that we must inevitably deal with in the future. Currently in the Pacific Ocean, there is something known as the North Pacific garbage patch. Some would never believe this exists, but its essentially a mass of floating garbage located in the Pacific Ocean that is currently twice the size of the state of Texas. The state of Texas is one of the largest states in the United States, and this is a devastating issue for our planet to have to contend with. Ironically most of this mass of floating trash is made out just what our straws are made out of, plastic. As you might have noticed, many bars and restaurants are moving towards offering paper straws nowadays to help contend with the issue. And while this isn’t convenient for most, especially the upper-echelon drink enthusiasts. The perfect solution for this is for individuals to use reusable glass cocktail straws in their drinks!  

One Person Can Make a Change!

Its important for us to understand that the problem that plastic straws are creating currently. Plastic straws are made of toxic chemicals that are often known to increase your risks of cancer, reproductive issues, and hyperactivity in children - as many parents might have witnessed firsthand. It is actually a statistic that children who drink sugary drinks with plastic straws are more so likely to misbehave, and while this might be a product of excess sugar as well, its never too young to begin getting your children used to something that will only benefit the planet more. Its not really much of a risk for us to use these straws, but it is when they aren’t being disposed of the right way - theres no way to just destroy them without causing some sort of devastation to the planet and its important to understand this fact. This is why Spirulina Sims and her Jillion Trinkets is a big advocate for the use of reusable cocktail glass straws. Whether you believe it or not, if each person makes a change it can keep an average of 600 plastic straws out of our environment and out of our oceans and landfills, each year, and thats nearly 50,000 over their lifespan. And for many drink enthusiasts who use cocktail glass straws on a daily basis, even multiple times, switching to a reusable, easily washable glass cocktail straw can make an even bigger difference. Even more than that for many drink enthusiasts it simply is a matter of giving it a try, as it offers a much better, more premium and ultimately more cost-effective, environmentally friendly option for individuals that is simply to good to pass up. For more information on glass cocktail straws or to purchase your own glass cocktail straws be sure to contact Spirulina Sims today, and visit her blog at JillionTrinkets.com as well as her shop ShopJillionTrinkets.com now.