5 Of The Best...Eco-friendly Alternatives To Plastic Straws

The world sips through 1 billion straws a day.

Between the US and UK we get through over 550 million plastic drinking straws every 24 hours...and they don't decompose for a very long time.

Live

Georgina Wilson-Powell

Fri 24 Sept 2021

Think about it, you use it for a few minutes supping a smoothie, sipping a cocktail or shoving in a can of drink.

But straws suck.

They take over 200 years to break down - and when they do, the tiny plastic microparticles end up everywhere from our food chain to our tap water.

Ideally you'll stop sucking (read about the people who have convinced their communities to pass on plastic here) but if you can't here are our 5 best eco-friendly alternatives to plastic drinking straws - with both reusable and biodegradable options to suit everyone.

5 Of The Best...Eco-friendly Alternatives To Plastic Straws

5 Ecofriendly Alternatives To Plastic Straws

Bamboo straws

Bambaw sell their bamboo straws on Amazon. These are reusable drinking straws that biodegrade. They're handmade in Bali from whole bamboo, which is an easy to grow, sustainable crop. These eco-friendly, plastic free straws can be used in hot and cold drinks and they don’t taste of anything. A cleaning brush comes with every set of 12.

Bottle with a stainless steel straw coming out of it

Stainless steel straws

New brand Sucka offer stainless steel straws with a case and are one of the best reusable straw options we've found for the UK. Sucka Straws come in a range of metallic colours and come with both a bent shape or a straight slurper option. Of course, they're dishwasher safe. From £1.99 each or get three for £9.99 with a reusable linen bag.

Glass straws

StrawGrace offer up handmade, incredibly hardy glass straws that come in packs of five. These pretty straws with coloured ends are BPA free, eco-friendly, dishwasher safe and shatterproof. Each packet comes with a year's guarantee - this is the same glass that's used in labs all over the world and in Pyrex dishes. Safe and strong.

Wheat straws

Have you heard of wheat straws? New British non plastic drinking straw brand, The Wheat Straw Company, are a great single option. They're made of wheat, so they don't go mushy plus each one is 100% natural, biodegradable and yours. And don't worry they're gluten free too!

Silicone straws

Pick up silicone straws from Seraphina’s Kitchen. They make reusable coloured straws from silicone, we like the pastel colours. They’re all BPA free, lead and phosphate free and again you can clean them with the brush that comes with each pack or put them in the dishwasher.