Seattle’s straw ban may hit milkshake fans the hardest
Jun 21, 2018, 9:34 AM | Updated: 5:50 pm
The City of Seattle will prohibit eateries from dispensing plastic straws or utensils on July 1. But is there solid reasoning behind the new law?
RELATED: Seattle’s plastic straw and utensil ban takes effect July 1 for all food providers
“I realize the plastic straw thing is not the environmental disaster that folks have said,” noted KIRO Radio’s Mike Lewis. “Some of the data is a little flawed.”
“You’re putting that nicely,” added KIRO Radio’s John Curley. “The story about the 500 million straws in America came from a nine-year-old boy who did a phone survey years ago. He later admitted he might be off on the numbers. It ends up being that the average American uses 564 straws in a year. That’s 1.3 straws a day.
“Most likely the numbers are flawed. But the media ran with it. It’s really not that big of a deal.”
The straw ban may hit milkshake fans the hardest
The straw ban is certainly not a big deal, unless you’re a milkshake company. While many can foresee going without straws or using biodegradable versions in numerous beverages, such straws may not be able to survive the rough waters of a strawberry banana milkshake.
“The real alternative is just to stop using them. But I’ll give you the milkshake,” Mike said. “You can maybe use a spoon, or just drink that too.”
Seattle will become the first city to venture into the unknown with an official plastic straw and utensil ban. No straws are set to be dramatically burned in the public square, and bars won’t find themselves the subject of raids. There won’t even be fines. Instead, the city will work with restaurants and bars still found using them.
Straw enthusiasts will still be able to purchase them at grocery and supply stores. Whether the ban changes the behavior of straw fans remains to be seen.
In any case, Curley appears to still be reeling from a traumatic straw incident.
“One time I’m out on a date and it’s not going well. I’m drinking an iced tea, and the woman says to me, ‘Wow, that is such a turn-off. You’re drinking with a straw. Have you ever seen a man drink with a straw?”
“If straws had been banned,” Mike noted, “you might still be dating her.”
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 3pm for John Curley and Shari Elliker.
