This week's topic: Environmental activists launch a campaign to ‘Suck the Straws out of Boulder.' Your thoughts?


There are many environmental movements I can get behind. I dig biking to work and around town in what some affectionately call the "Boulder minivan" — my electrified red cargo bike with two kids atop often towing a trailer with either their bikes loaded or a preschool friend or two seated.

I'm all for reusing shopping bags, though I admit to forgetting them most of the time. Therefore, I have perfected juggling groceries. I do my part to recycle; admittedly, I'm that annoying person going through other people's bins and telling them what they're doing wrong. Environmental causes have gone so far as to have self-acclaimed menstrual cup activists. (I'm not going there. You're welcome.)

Sara Lott puts a straw into a smoothie at Wonder on Pearl Street. The shop uses compostable straws for their drinks.
Sara Lott puts a straw into a smoothie at Wonder on Pearl Street. The shop uses compostable straws for their drinks. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)

But straws? I use straws so infrequently and my kids get juice and milk boxes only at birthday parties. It seems to me that Boulder activists could have a bigger impact on the environment by focusing on disposable chopsticks, the awful red cups used for kegger parties on Uni Hill, or other disposable utensils.

China began levying taxes on wooden chopsticks in 2006 but the United States has done nearly nothing. My family regularly eats at Asian restaurants across town and my kids enjoy using their own chopsticks over the wooden ones provided. Whole Foods hands out the unsustainable sticks like candy to their Leaf-driving, sushi- and dumpling-eating customers.

If banning or taxing straws is Boulder's next environmental "movement," I'll be rather unimpressed.

Michelle Estrella,,


Two things about this proposal appeal to me, regardless of the issue. For one, it is being put forward by a diverse group of environmentalists, ranging from Shared Paths Boulder (with a budget, maybe, of $300) and Taco Junky to Colorado Ocean Coalition. Second, at least so far, the Boulder City Council is not involved. It would be really nice if this idea could be implemented without Boulder telling us what is good for us.

Straws are a tiny fraction of plastic waste that ends up in the ocean, but my marine biologist daughter points out that the damage done by 1,000 straws, some of which end up in the bodies of marine animals, is much greater than the damage done by the equivalent weight in, say, plastic buckets.

Despite warnings that I am killing myself, I consume a soft drink every day. This week, I have realized that at home I never drink through a straw. In a restaurant, however, I always use a straw. At the very least, someone should be able to come up with a good reusable straw.

When my daughter was in middle school, there was a campaign to get rid of those plastic six-pack holders, or to cut them up so that wildlife would not get stuck in the openings. While those holders still exist, most beer and pop now comes in boxes. Let's hope that the use of straws can be similarly reduced.

Rett Ertl,


First they came for the plastic bags, and I did not speak out — because I could do without plastic bags. Then they came for the sugary drinks, and I did not speak out — because I don't drink that crap. Then they came for the plastic straws...

Have you ever tried to drink a properly made bloody mary without a straw?

A surprising number of people have seen the YouTube video of the unfortunate turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its snout. I spent the '80s in Los Angeles and I saw a lot of straws in people's noses, but that had more to do with coming out of their shells.

Local "alternative transportation" activist Graham Hill, and a charmingly earnest and well-spoken young fellow named Milo Cress, lead the charge of this latest governmental overreach into our lives and businesses. Mr. Cress began his anti-straw crusade at the tender age of nine. One wonders what set him off, perhaps a frustrating juice bag incident?

At least Milo's recommendation is to offer the consumer a choice, but in a town like Boulder, the dear leaders will probably smell a tax opportunity. Oh, I'm sorry, a "fee." I'm guessing about five cents a straw, and the money collected would go toward "educational programs," and of course another government employee to administrate.

People complain about Boulder becoming too much like Aspen. How about we try to avoid becoming any more like Berkeley?

Don Wrege,


I generally carry around a reusable water bottle, mug, Tupperware, fork, bag, and handkerchief. That covers pretty much anything I would ever need. If I wanted to use straws, I would carry around a reusable one of those, too. Unfortunately, environmentalists who live their values to this extent are scarce.

Most people don't notice how disposable their culture is. These people aren't ready for bold actions like removing paper napkins or plastic straws from restaurants. They're not even ready to be charged a few cents for them. But they are ready to hear that reducing disposable waste is possible and beneficial. Even if someone wouldn't think to leave their car at home for a whole day, every bicyclist on the road makes riding seem easier. The more we, as a society, talk about actions and enable people to follow those actions, the more reasonable those actions sound.

While reducing plastic straw waste is minimal compared to minimizing car usage or reducing waste at an industry level, it is measurable. In an age where there are 410 parts per million of CO2 in our atmosphere, we need to do everything possible to make a difference.

The "offer first" policy that Milo Cress encourages for restaurants makes sense. While some people prefer to always have single-use straws, I don't want them. I don't consent to using those resources. Let's respect people; let's ask them what they want, and provide accordingly.

Cha Cha Spinrad,,


I love straws. But I saw the same video everyone else did about the straw stuck in a sea tortoise's nose. It made me feel bad for the tortoise. And guilty about my love of straws. When I was a kid there were paper straws that had strawberry or chocolate flavoring in the straw itself so when you put the straw in a glass of milk, the milk would become flavored as it traveled up the straw. It seemed ingenious to me at the time.

We have been using straws for thousands of years. Initially it was to avoid sediment accumulated at the bottom of a drinking vessel. In the 1800s a man in Washington D.C. invented the paper straw to avoid using a rye stalk in his mint julep which imparted an unpleasant taste. Later it seemed to be an important tool for hygienic and health reasons.

That plastic straw usage has gotten out of hand is an understatement. But, I believe we can reform. In Boulder, we stopped using plastic bags in fairly short order. I was in a restaurant recently and I was served a drink with no straw. It seemed strange at the time but it made me stop and think about whether I really had to have the straw. I wish I had a better end to this story but I must admit I asked for a straw. I know I can do better.

Fern O'Brien,

