What’s the carbon footprint of a drinking straw?

Think your eco-friendly straw is actually helping the planet? Think again.

While many people are flocking to paper straws and bioplastic alternatives because they break down, unfortunately these options aren’t much better for the planet than their plastic counterparts.

Sure, these alternatives don’t linger in the environment and harm marine life, but they’re guilty in a different (and arguably graver) way–they contribute to global warming. This is clear to see when you take a closer look at the emissions as a result of the manufacturing and packaging process of paper and bioplastic straws.

By now, it’s pretty well-accepted information that single-use plastic utensils, particularly straws, are dreadful for the environment. But the sad truth is that most “eco-friendly” options aren’t much better. 

(Sorry to be a Debbie Downer… There IS a real solution, we promise! More on that later.)

In this article, we’ll take a look at the different options for disposable cutlery on the market and compare their carbon footprint so you can understand its effect on global warming. 

Plus, we’ll do a side-by-side comparison of the carbon footprint of single-use utensils compared to HAY! Straws and bamboo cutlery. Students at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology compared the lifecycle assessment of our products compared to the alternatives, and the results might shock and surprise you.

By the end of this article, you’ll be armed with the knowledge you need to choose the best option for the planet!

How to assess the “eco-friendliness” of a single use straw or piece of cutlery

In this article, we’ll be focusing on 3 main measures of an item’s impact on the planet: life cycle assessment, carbon footprint, and global warming value. Let’s take a closer look at each one.

What is life cycle assessment (LCA)?

Life cycle assessment (or LCA for short) looks at the environmental impact of an item through its entire life cycle, from production, to packaging, to  transportation, to use, to disposal.

It’s important to look at this because while some items don’t wreak havoc in the environment after disposal, they use a lot of energy and produce emissions during the production phase. For example, while paper straws break down easily, they require a lot of energy and resources to produce.

What is a carbon footprint? 

A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted as a result of consuming fossil fuels. CO2 is a greenhouse gas emitted as a result of burning fossil fuels that traps heat in the atmosphere. 

Usually, the term “carbon footprint” is understood in the context of a single person’s or nation’s emissions. In the United States, the average carbon footprint of a person is 16 tonnes per year–compared to 4 tonnes per year globally! But we can also calculate the carbon footprint of an object–like a single-use straw or fork–as a tool for assessing its environmental impact.

To assess the carbon footprint of a piece of cutlery, we’d have to look at its life cycle, from cradle to death. That means looking at all the carbon emitted into the atmosphere as a result of production, packaging, transportation, use, and disposal.

But here’s where it gets complicated–there’s another, more accurate way to determine the “eco-friendliness” of an object instead of carbon footprint. Carbon is only one greenhouse gas where there are many, including methane and nitrous oxide. 

A more accurate marker is an item’s global warming value. The global warming value of an item determines the emissions of all greenhouse gasses, how much it sequesters, and more.

The global warming value of disposable utensils

Let’s look at the global warming value of disposable utensils, broken up into 2 groups: straws, and cutlery.

Disposable straws

We looked at the global warming value of different options for single-use utensils (straws, forks, spoons, etc.) side by side. See the table below to compare the carbon footprint of the different options.

(Note: the global warming value doesn’t include carbon sequestration, which is why the paper and bioplastic values are higher.)

As you can see, paper straws were big emitters–not the eco-friendly solution that we all thought they were. 3000 paper straws had a global warming value of 36758.4  kg of CO2. [1] 

Polypropylene straws were unsurprisingly big emitters, with a global warming value of 4.413 kg of CO2. [2] Bioplastic straws (which don’t contain crude oil) weren't much better with a global warming value of 78612 kg of CO2. [3]

Of note in this table is the low global warming value of HAY! Straws–just 1.7 kg of CO2 emitted. [4] 

(Not bragging–just presenting the data.)

Disposable cutlery (forks, spoons, knives)

When it comes to disposable forks, spoons, and knives, the global warming values vary widely. See the table below to compare the environmental effects.

As you can see, high quality polystyrene cutlery had the highest global warming value, the equivalent of 7.5615 kg of CO2. [5]

But the real standout? HAY! Bamboo cutlery had a negative global warming value of -15.24 kg of CO2. [6] That means that our cutlery actually sequesters greenhouse gasses!

Why do HAY! Straws and HAY! bamboo cutlery have a much lower global warming value than their alternatives?

There are many reasons for this, including the manufacturing process, the material of our products, the packaging, and the end-of-life.

Unlike plastic which uses crude oil and requires energy to produce, our products are made of plant matter and are barely processed at all. Our straws are simply wheat and reed stems. Straws already exist in nature–all we do is clean them and cut them to size!

Unlike plastic straws and utensils which take hundreds of years to break down and leach harmful chemicals and microplastics, our products decompose quickly in nature. They’re compostable and BPI certified, and they break down in just 42 days!

Plus, our packaging is plastic-free, even down to our water activated paper tape.  

Apart from being eco-friendly, why else should I choose HAY! Straws and cutlery?

HAY! Straws don’t get soggy in your beverage! Unlike paper straws which go soggy in mere minutes, our straws are made of wheat and reed stems which stay hard.

Plus, they don’t contain nasty chemicals. Studies show that paper straws contain more PFAS (“forever chemicals”) than plastic straws. These chemicals are harmful to human health and have been linked to a number of serious illnesses, including cancer, thyroid disease, liver disease, and more. 

As for our cutlery sets, they’re made of bamboo, which is naturally antimicrobial, is a highly renewable resource, and doesn’t contain chemicals. 

Plus, your purchase actually helps sea turtles. We partner with the Sea Turtle Conservation, and every month, we adopt a new sea turtle. Sea turtles aren’t just cute–they keep coral reefs healthy and they contribute to the biodiversity of the ocean.

Ditch the fake eco-friendly alternatives. Switch to the real deal. Shop our HAY! Straws and bamboo cutlery now. 

Written by Leslie Armstrong

ENDNOTES

[1] Processes 2021, 9, 1007 - Moy, Tan, Shoparwe, Shariff,Tan

[2] PLASTICLESS_ A COMPARATIVE LIFE-CYCLE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLICY - 2020 - Rana

[3] Processes 2021, 9, 1007 - Moy, Tan, Shoparwe, Shariff,Tan

[4] “Life Cycle Analysis of HAY! Straws – cradle to grave” - Eleeza, John and Adedeji, Adegoke

[5] Processes 2021, 9, 1007 - Moy, Tan, Shoparwe, Shariff,Tan

[6] “Life Cycle Analysis of HAY! Cutlery – cradle to grave” - Eleeza, John and Adedeji, Adegoke