i was at a bbq party with thin wooden hippie utensils, my fork and knife both cracked in half about 2 minutes into the meal. 
Paper straws suck!
- Thread starter Seraphim
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At least you are trying to do something there. Here, I was walking back from lunch and all the locals have been to the hawker centres to get their lunch and take back to the office lunch rooms. Without exception that I could see every single one was carrying a plastic bag, with a plastic pot of noodles, or chicken rice, or other such dish. And plastic cutlery or chopsticks.
The only way to change or control how people behave is through taxation. I would not mind paying lower taxes if compensated by the convenience of others. Worked to slow the expansion of tobacco use. In my youth a pack of fangs was a quarter at vending machines in every store. Now I guess they are approaching $5 and you have to show ID to get them from a locked cabinet. $3 tax per straw would go a long way in raising funds to clean up the convenience mess being made.
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
Asbestos
But the "good" news it's making a come back.
I generally feel that straws are for kids drinks. Or to mix a drink.
This is another example of the insanity sweeping the country thanks to the extreme environmentalists. We use a lot of plastic in larger quantities elsewhere which could be changed before resorting to eliminating plastic straws. Think about the plastic bags used in grocery stores, which replaced paper bags. My wife always requested paper when it was available. Imagine trying to drink a Frappuccino through a paper straw. You'd get a hernia when it collapsed! I just wish the government would get out of my life.
Hey, can I have your social security check?
Those lids must use a lot less plastic than a straw.Coming to a Starbucks near you.
Cosby had a great comedy routine about kindergarten and the paper straw for your milk. It was good for one sip. I also remember a paper straw you could buy that had chocolate or strawberry milk mix as a solid pellet inside the straw and it would dissolve in the milk. When plastic straws started becoming available they were the coolest. I get it, it's horrid for the environment. I've been getting the salted cream cold brew at starbucks and it's got the sippy cup top. I like it, keeps the foam out of the stache and still provides easy access.
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- #29
Yup, and there it is--the government putting their hand out to "help" the environment. Chances that the "tax" money will actually go to help the problem? Highly unlikely.
One example: Massachusetts Cigarette Taxes Raise Millions But Not For Anti-Smoking Programs
And the other part that should be a red flag "...control how people behave", governments certainly like doing that.
The stupid iced coffee already costs me $3.50, which is ridiculous. It should include the cost of a plastic straw.
A couple of towns here in the Commiewealth of Massachusetts have a 5 cent per plastic bag "tax". I was shopping at Whole Foods, which is already expensive, and complained about this surcharge on top of the already high prices, and said "of course the People's Republic of Cambridge wants their 5 cents per bag.." at which point the clerk told me that the money didn't go to the town, it got donated to various charities per WF discretion. So, purely punitive.
Thus, if people wonder why there is some pushback on "environmental regulations", or issues related to "climate change", which, at face value are worthy ideals. But, due to human frailty are morphed into onerous tar babies of tyranny and just another way to extort money out of the masses.
I went for a hot coffee this morning. Came with a plastic lid.
All this reminds me of Golgafrinchians who crashed on prehistoric Earth in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and couldn't make a wheel because they couldn't decide on the color. If people want to worry about plastics, fine. But why not run the numbers on just how much plastic is used annually, by weight, in what applications? My guess is soda straws will be pretty low on that list.
Ah, well. I don't intend to go where they ban plastic soda straws, and a coffee maker is cheaper than Starbucks. Why, if I use my old peculator, I can say it's more environmentally friendly because it doesn't even use filters.
Ah, well. I don't intend to go where they ban plastic soda straws, and a coffee maker is cheaper than Starbucks. Why, if I use my old peculator, I can say it's more environmentally friendly because it doesn't even use filters.
In the 80s, it was all about using plastic to "save a tree" and "save the spotted owl". It was also "global cooling" and the coming ice age. What's the 2020s going to bring?
I keep seeing this thread on the front page, and it made no sense to me no matter how many times I though about it over the last little while.
A paper straw? Really???
I've seen and used wooden scoop thingies with ice cream and even pointy ones with fries, but an actual paper straw baffles me. I've never heard of it and had to come and have a look lol.
A paper straw? Really???
I've seen and used wooden scoop thingies with ice cream and even pointy ones with fries, but an actual paper straw baffles me. I've never heard of it and had to come and have a look lol.
Yup, and there it is--the government putting their hand out to "help" the environment. Chances that the "tax" money will actually go to help the problem? Highly unlikely.
One example: Massachusetts Cigarette Taxes Raise Millions But Not For Anti-Smoking Programs
And the other part that should be a red flag "...control how people behave", governments certainly like doing that.
The stupid iced coffee already costs me $3.50, which is ridiculous. It should include the cost of a plastic straw.
A couple of towns here in the Commiewealth of Massachusetts have a 5 cent per plastic bag "tax". I was shopping at Whole Foods, which is already expensive, and complained about this surcharge on top of the already high prices, and said "of course the People's Republic of Cambridge wants their 5 cents per bag.." at which point the clerk told me that the money didn't go to the town, it got donated to various charities per WF discretion. So, purely punitive.
Thus, if people wonder why there is some pushback on "environmental regulations", or issues related to "climate change", which, at face value are worthy ideals. But, due to human frailty are morphed into onerous tar babies of tyranny and just another way to extort money out of the masses.
I went for a hot coffee this morning. Came with a plastic lid.
"Government" has been shaping and controlling people ever since they decided that more than 1 person could live in a single cave.
Nothing "new" here.
If you want to save money on coffee use a coffee pot instead of the drive through. The vast majority of the cost of your $3.50 cup of coffee isn't the 0.07 cents the coffee cost them. It's the $5,000 a day it cost to stay open so you can drive through.
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- #34
AAARGH!
Your well reasoned and logical approach has diffused my argument altogether.
*grumble, grumble...*
- Thread starter
- #35
gotta keep the people hopping
The thread needs toons!
- Thread starter
- #38
Weeks ago I vaguely recall reading about the plastic straw issue. Because of their shape I believe there were legitimate concerns about them getting caught up various marine environments and causing damage. So some coastal cities decided to ban them (southern California taking the lead). Which is great, but I think that has very little to do with people living inland, with sufficient trash disposal and sewage treatment.
Which reminds of interesting article from Nassim Taleb - The Most Intolerant Wins: The Dictatorship of the Small Minority, which is unrelated to this thread except for giving different examples of this phenomenon.
Which reminds of interesting article from Nassim Taleb - The Most Intolerant Wins: The Dictatorship of the Small Minority, which is unrelated to this thread except for giving different examples of this phenomenon.
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I'm all for less garbage floating around, especially plastic, but there comes a point when things stop making sense.
"The bill would tack the rule onto already existing code, the violation of which carries a fine between $25 and $1,000, up to six months in county jail or both, "except as otherwise provided." It would only apply to sit-down restaurants, not bars or fast food locations."
Plastic straws illegal unless requested under California bill — with up to a $1,000 fine attached
Up to a $1000 fine and/or 6 months in jail. For a straw. Not bars or fast food places, hmmm. Why do the worst offenders get free reign?
Here in Canada the majority of restaurants, fast food joints and the like are chain franchises. I would view that law as a way to penalize independent business owners while giving the chains a free ride. Thats how its happened here over the last 30 or so years. Private family run restaurants, as well as many family owned and run farms, have slowly been regulated out of business to make room for bigger corporations and more chain shops.
Just last year a friend of mine shut down the dairy farm his father started in the 1950's because of new provincial regulations becoming too invasive and expensive.
As my father was fond of saying; "He who has the gold makes the rules."
"The bill would tack the rule onto already existing code, the violation of which carries a fine between $25 and $1,000, up to six months in county jail or both, "except as otherwise provided." It would only apply to sit-down restaurants, not bars or fast food locations."
Plastic straws illegal unless requested under California bill — with up to a $1,000 fine attached
Up to a $1000 fine and/or 6 months in jail. For a straw. Not bars or fast food places, hmmm. Why do the worst offenders get free reign?
Here in Canada the majority of restaurants, fast food joints and the like are chain franchises. I would view that law as a way to penalize independent business owners while giving the chains a free ride. Thats how its happened here over the last 30 or so years. Private family run restaurants, as well as many family owned and run farms, have slowly been regulated out of business to make room for bigger corporations and more chain shops.
Just last year a friend of mine shut down the dairy farm his father started in the 1950's because of new provincial regulations becoming too invasive and expensive.
As my father was fond of saying; "He who has the gold makes the rules."
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