7 Eco friendly alternatives to plastic straws

The world sips through 1 billion straws a day - that is a lot of plastic waste! 

Yet you don’t need to feel guilty when enjoying your drink through a straw. 

There are a huge variety of eco friendly straws you can buy here in the UK as an alternative to plastic. 

Non-plastic straws are now easy to find and can be cost effective. You may not even have realised the variety of eco friendly straws out there. 

That is why we have created this list of reusable straws which you can easily and affordably buy from Amazon today. 

Plastic straws - the facts

When was the last time you drank from a plastic straw? Recently perhaps? 

In the UK alone, we use more than 4.7 billion plastic straws every year... That means for every person, over 700 straws are consumed annually! 

We’ve mentioned facts about plastic in other articles, but the simple truth is that plastic doesn’t decompose for hundreds of years. When it eventually does break down, it disintegrates into thousands of small microplastics that will then remain in our oceans unless physically removed. 

In fact, many predictions state that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. 

From April 2020, the government will introduce a new law to limit plastic straws availability in shops. 

This proves that public pressure has forced the government to act. 

But where does this leave you and me if we still want to use a straw? 

We shouldn’t have to give up straws. Afterall, they can be helpful when trying to keep makeup in place, or add a certain splash to the perfect Instagram shot. 

We’re here to show you that there are alternatives out there which look better than plastic straws and won’t harm the environment. 

This list of 7 eco friendly alternatives to plastic straws will provide you with all the reusable straw options that you need to know about and links to where you can purchase them from. 

They are all affordably priced, sustainable and easy to buy on Amazon.

7 Eco friendly alternatives to plastic straws

Bamboo straws

Bamboo has some pretty magical properties that makes it a perfect sustainable straw. Bambaw are one great company selling their bamboo straws on Amazon. They are handmade in Bali from an organically farmed plantation, meaning no chemicals or pesticides are used in their production. As they are hand crafted from individual bamboo shoots, each straw is unique in colour and diameter. These eco friendly, plastic free straws won’t taste of anything whether used for hot or cold drinks. If bought from this Amazon link, a cleaning brush and straw bag comes with every set of 12.

Bambaw bamboo eco straws - £8.49

Stainless steel straws

Love Eco has created colourful stainless steel straws that are one of the best reusable straw options here in the UK. Again, they help you ditch your dependence on plastic straws with style. It is easy to keep your stainless steel straws in perfect condition as they come with 2 cleaning brushes and are dishwasher safe. So why wouldn’t you ditch those weak bendy straws for something BPA free that will last? 

Love Eco stainless steel straws - £6.97

Glass straws

StrawGrace have created hard wearing glass that are individually tested and packed without plastic. They are handmade from fortified glass that is built to last, ensuring quality and strength. Not only are they eco friendly, they are BPA free, dishwasher safe and shatterproof. StrawGrace are so confident in their products that they come with a year guarantee!

Reusable glass straws - £10.95

Wheat straws

Have you heard of wheat straws before? A great alternative to single use plastic drinking straws, these eco friendly straws are actually made from wheat. The Wheat Straws Company are really helping us to ditch single use plastics, and the founders are cocktail lovers themselves so you know their straws will be good! Similar in feel to plastic but each one is 100% natural, biodegradable and compostable, they are a single use alternative straw that you must consider. Wheat straws will decompose so won’t end up in our oceans, but also don’t go mushy after just a few minutes. And yes, they are gluten free. 

Wheat drinking straws - £11.99

Silicone straws

Want something a little different? Try a silicone straw from Seraphina’s Kitchen.  They come in an exciting range of colours, and are all reusable, BPA, lead and phosphate free. Again they can be used in the dishwasher, and come with a handy travel bag. Soft, flexible, adaptable, you can even cut them to shape, these straws are perfect to replace all plastic straws.

Reusable Silicone Straws - £11.91

Paper Straws

You may have been wondering what happened to the standard paper straw. Well the USA brand Aardvark are one sustainable paper straw company you can trust. Acid and toxin free, biodegradable and compostable, this pack of 600 might be a little more pricey than plastic alternatives but they are surely worth it. Their mission is to change the world one sip at a time by changing the way we see and use single use plastics. Their straws come in a range of shapes and sizes to suit all occasions, from cocktail straws, eco-flex straws, giant straws for milkshakes, bubble tea straws, even customised straws. And before you say, they are also durable and can reportedly last up to 3 hours in cold drinks.

Rice Straws

The ZotiYuri eco-friendly rice straw is a natural product that biodegrades in just 3 months in a landfill, or just 7 days in saltwater. It is made from 100% natural products, rice and tapioca, which means it will even serve as fish food and can be eaten - although they don’t recommend trying. Unlike most paper alternatives, its strength means that it won’t become pulpy after just a few minutes, lasting up to 2 hours in cold drinks. It also comes in 4 colours made from natural ingredients, white (rice), green (spinach), purple (beetroot) and grey (sesame seeds), so will look stunning on your social media posts without actually changing the taste of your drinks. This is one amazing single use straw that we highly recommend trying.  

 

Eco Friendly Biodegradable Rice Straws - £11.99