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Everyday swaps

No straw, or a stainless steel one

Plastic straws are banned in most rich countries, but 90 percent of paper straws tested contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); steel was the only clean option.

Swap out
Plastic or paper straws
Swap in
No straw, or a stainless steel straw
Impact
1 / 5
Cost
1 / 3
Effort
1 / 3
Grams of plastic avoided per person per year
60
Watch out for
Most paper and bamboo straws tested contained PFAS, the 'forever chemicals' that do not break down, so they are not a clean swap. Keep single-use straws available for people who need them.

Say no straw by default. If you need one for medical or accessibility reasons, carry a stainless steel or reusable silicone straw.

A plastic straw weighs about 0.4 g, so refusing three a week saves around 60 g a year, small in mass but a top beach-litter item. The bigger finding is chemical: a 2023 Belgian study found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in 90 percent of paper straw brands, most bamboo brands and some plastic and glass ones, and none in stainless steel.

The catch: some disabled people need bendable single-use straws; venues should keep them available on request rather than removing them entirely.

Page updated 24 September 2026. How we check sources