Day 65 of 365 Days Of Low Carbon Living: finding out how careful you need to be when avoiding plastic cups and straws in cafes.

Watching the first episode of Series 2 of the War On Waste reminded me that I didn’t get around to posting about a particular incident earlier this year.

I was meeting someone in a cafe and we decided to order drinks. It was a hot day, so I decided on a cold juice drink.

I could see that the cafe was serving a lot of juice in ‘takeaway’ cups.

Nothing this, and wishing to avoid drinking from a container that could not be re-used or recycled or re-used, I specifically asked for my drink in a glass with no straw. In a cafe focussed on fresh, whole food and with plenty of wood, cane and greenery, I didn’t think there would be any problem.

The young person serving me looked a little unsure, then asked if it would be OK in a jar. I could see plenty of ‘drinking jars’ on the bench. Of course! It was completely in keeping with the hipster atmosphere of the place. (I know these are very fashionable at the moment, but I am not a big fan of drinking from jars. I just find them not conducive to drinking neatly.)

Thinking that would be the only way to get my drink in glass and not plastic, I said it would be fine.

Imagine my surprise, then, when my drink arrived in a plastic ‘disposable’ cup!

It was clear that, despite my request, healthy ambiance, and the general shift away from plastic, the person serving me clearly had no idea why I had requested a glass.

Lessons learned for avoiding plastic cups

This experience taught me that we still have a long way to go before avoiding plastic cups and straws is no longer very unusual.

The huge popularity and influence of programs the War On Waste is having some effect. It is part of a world-wide trend (in western countries at least) of people moving away from ‘single use’ plastic. It is starting to become unfashionable for people to drink from ‘takeaway’ cups and use plastic straws.

One day, everything served in cafes will once again be served in non-plastic containers.

Until then, though, when we sit in a cafe, we have to remember to always ask for non-plastic containers – and no straws.

And, it seems, we have to say why.

When we ask for our cool drink in a glass, I now know that we also have to say it’s because we’re avoiding plastic cups and straws.

Side benefits

Avoiding plastic cups and straws – and being explicit about why – can open up conversations with people serving you and with others around you.

The more people ask for plastic-free serving-ware – and who bring their own takeaway containers – the more likely other people are to see the demand for them and for their use to become normalised.

Why are we avoiding plastic cups and straws

Most plastic is made from fossil oil and gas. When fossil oil and gas is taken out of the ground, transported and used, it damages the local environments and our climate.

Unfortunately, when we ‘throw away’ plastic other problems arise.

• Unlike natural materials, most plastic does not break down – it just breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces.
• Many plastics release chemicals, especially as they deteriorate or come into contact with other substances.

Recycling is not the answer to ‘disposable’ plastic.

• Recycling is low in the waste hierarchy, just above ‘disposal’.
• Not all plastics can be recycled.
• ‘Contamination’ with other materials means that much plastic sent for recycling cannot be recycled.
• When plastics are recycled, they tend to be recycled into lower quality products.
• There is a glut of plastic – too much for what can currently be recycled. In part it is because there is a low demand for recycled plastic products.

See this infographic for a summary.

Why start explicitly avoiding plastic cups and straws now

Plastic Free July is a great time to put in extra effort to avoid plastic.

The second season of the War On Waste is airing in Australia, so avoiding waste – and especially single use plastics – is very topical.

The consequences of damage to our climate unfolding faster and faster…and yet we keep damaging our climate by doing things like using oil and gas. The faster we stop the damage, the faster we can slow the consequences of the damage done.

The challenge

When we order drinks in a cafe, ask for it in a glass or a china cup – without a straw – and explain why we are avoiding plastic cups and straws.

This is a challenge for me too!

Join me!

Any change or challenge is easier if you have company along the way.

So let’s embark on this journey together.

• Read my blog for ideas, thoughts and experiences for living a lower carbon lifestyle, more in harmony with nature – while also adapting to the consequences of our damaged climate.
• Subscribe to get posts direct to your inbox.
• Commit to taking action yourself.
• Add a comment to let me know you’re joining in the effort to turn around our world so it can remain liveable – and what your experiences are.
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A problem shared is a problem halved. We’re all affected by the changes to our world so we need to be all in on the action!

Till next time…