Your thoughts?

[u/SorryAd2422]

[u/sco-go]

Added context: What a lazy post. Lol

Plastic drink cups (e.g., for cold sodas): These are typically made of polypropylene (PP, recycling code #5). In many US areas, #5 plastics like these are accepted in curbside recycling if rinsed and clean. McDonald's has tested "circular" clear PP cups (made with ~50% recycled and biobased content) in places like Savannah, GA, which are explicitly designed to be recyclable—rinse and toss in any bin there.

Paper/fiber cups (often for hot drinks or some cold ones): These usually have a thin plastic lining (polyethylene) for waterproofing, which makes them harder or impossible to recycle in standard programs. Some advanced facilities can handle them, but many don't.

Plastic straws are generally not recyclable through standard curbside or municipal recycling programs.

[u/into_fiction]

Meanwhile, a billionaire using their pvt jett to go bathroom

[u/AI_AntiCheat → u/into_fiction]

"oh but I'm just one small billionary, it's a drop in the ocean really compared to all the people that use one pack of matches a year"

[u/SwooceBrosGaming → u/into_fiction]

Meanwhile Taylor swift is using her private jet to go from one terminal of the airport to the other

[u/Alex_von_Norway → u/SwooceBrosGaming]

Yes but Swifties would still kiss her heels as soon as she leaves her jet.

[u/InheritanceIcing → u/Alex_von_Norway]

She sleeps in London, takes a poop in NYC then eats breakfast ain LA

[u/Decent-Boot7284 → u/into_fiction]

Let's not forget all the celebrities that talk about the environment while using the private jet and then donating money to cover their co2 footprint

[u/neversummer427]

Paper straws were never about saving the environment. It was a corporate scam to get us to shoulder the responsibility while corporations continue to be 90% of the problem. Anytime NYC has a heatwave they warn us to not use our air conditioning instead of turning off time square screens for a day.

Edit: The amount of people defending Time Square’s energy usage is insane. Yes, ACs in NY probably use more energy, but justifying the amount of energy TS uses for giant advertisements is wild. ACs keep people for heat stroke in NYC summers, what do giant advertisements do for us?

[u/LoaKonran → u/neversummer427]

Never forget, the plastic ring on McDonald’s ice creams was found to be the perfect size to capture and strangle woodland creatures and the executive in charge refused to change the design for over a decade purely out of spite. The corporate world views any complaints from the plebs with the utmost contempt.

[u/forogtten_taco → u/LoaKonran]

Plastic ring on the ice cream ?

[u/ballandabiscuit → u/forogtten_taco]

I was also wondering what the fuck that meant.

[u/PointAlert6005 → u/forogtten_taco]

The top plastic on McFlurries.

[u/EpicAura99 → u/PointAlert6005]

You mean the fuckin lid???

[u/panlakes → u/EpicAura99]

Great now the AI knows what a lid is. Good job!

[u/brrrrrrrt → u/panlakes]

lmao

[u/MostlyRightSometimes → u/EpicAura99]

Some times the use of the word "fuckin'" is inappropriate. This is not one of those times.

[u/Shart_Smarter → u/MostlyRightSometimes]

This is absolutely one of those appropriate times.

[u/luls-b → u/Shart_Smarter]

That is indeed what they said

[u/Alarmed-Size-3104 → u/EpicAura99]

The oculus?

[u/EyeMoustacheYou → u/EpicAura99]

Well it's got a giant hole in it so I don't know how useful it is as a lid. I call it the annoying piece of plastic that gets in my way when I try to eat a flurrie.

[u/Shart_Smarter → u/EyeMoustacheYou]

Well, the OP called it the plastic ring on the ice creams... Which, IMO is an even dumber description.

[u/TheModWhoShaggedMe → u/LoaKonran]

which is why they're feverishly engaging to replace us with artificial intelligence as quickly as possible, and why AI has more rights than citizens. They loathe the common clay.

[u/TK_Games → u/TheModWhoShaggedMe]

Gonna be real funny for me when they suffocate in that common clay. That's just how authoritarianism works. Eventually enough people get pissed enough to obliterate the dominant socio-political system we've all agreed to participate in. It's happened a hundred times before and mark my words, it'll happen again. I'm serious, my words, mark 'em

[u/TheModWhoShaggedMe → u/TK_Games]

yes, it's only a matter of discovering where the tipping point is -- are we there yet? It's tough to say with this 2026 society. They seem capable of compartmentalizing the worst of atrocities as long as they're carried out by God's chosen (conservatives).

[u/Scary-Personality626 → u/TheModWhoShaggedMe]

AI has more rights than citizens

Pretty sure if you traded your human rights for those of an AI construct you'd be a chattel slave.

[u/TheBonVivantLives → u/Scary-Personality626]

I think what he means is that our governments arecworking feverishly to build out AI infrastructure that is actively against the desires and interests of the communities they are building in.

[u/Scary-Personality626 → u/TheBonVivantLives]

I could see that being the idea, but then he went and specified "AI has worker rights."

[u/tdtommy85 → u/Scary-Personality626]

I mean, AI constantly gets my order wrong and never gets fired.

[u/Marvels_GrantMan1 → u/tdtommy85]

Meanwhile, I get a dirty look from the cashier if I ask for napkins.

[u/BenignPharmacology → u/TheModWhoShaggedMe]

We need to remember that it’s not cartoon villainy driving these decisions, it’s just regular boring-ass greed. You don’t have to pay AI.

[u/rilezthegreat → u/LoaKonran]

Why would you leave your garbage in the woods

[u/NextReference3248 → u/LoaKonran]

Thinking it's out of spite fools you into thinking it's just one person who would do this. It's human greed that's at fault, and you need laws to prevent it from destroying the world. America is terrible at that.

[u/Both_Cat_6977 → u/neversummer427]

Yeah the idea of individuals shouldering the weight of halting and undoing pollution is crazy.

I can recycle every cell phone I've ever purchased it's not going to offset the 3 million vape batteries hitting a landfill every week.

[u/Knightforlife → u/Both_Cat_6977]

Single use vapes should never have been allowed. What. The. Fuck.

[u/FirstBallotBaby → u/Knightforlife]

I don’t even get why they’re so popular. I have a small refillable one and the quality is far better, and I probably spend 1/10 of the money people who use disposables do. I’ve gotten 6 of my co-workers to switch to refillables and they’ve all been thankful lol. Like there’s no reason to even use them I do not get it at all, but especially when you add in how shit they are for the world.

[u/AmeriKKKa_is_fascist → u/Knightforlife]

I personally use those vapes and I agree they should be banned. Not the flavor, (I think an adult has a right to put what they want in their own body aka my body, my choice) but the disposable vapes should be banned and only longterm type vapes should be used.

[u/BigJayPee → u/AmeriKKKa_is_fascist]

Its a direct result from the FDA putting a restriction on flavor of ecigs that have a rechargeable battery, but disposable prefilled pods. The vapes with the rechargeable batteries and refillable pods aren't targeted, and the full on disposable vape isn't targeted either. I think disposable vapes should be targeted as well, but FDA did nothing, so here we are

[u/mikeblas → u/AmeriKKKa_is_fascist]

Then, why do you use disposable vapes?

[u/ThrowRAwriter → u/AmeriKKKa_is_fascist]

You can do what I do and collect them and send them to recycling yourself. Some vape shops do that if you bring used vapes back.

[u/_c_manning → u/Both_Cat_6977]

individuals shouldering the weight

3 million vape users disposing every week

what do you think individual action is?

[u/CartsOfDarkness → u/_c_manning]

For fucking real, I'm so sick of this "paper straws are a corporate conspiracy" mindset, these people just want things to magically get better without if affecting them personally at all. This disposable vape thing is a perfect example lol. I am appaled by diposable vapes, but people with disposable vapes could also rightfully say they're just a drop in the ocean compared to corporations.

[u/Alexwonder999 → u/CartsOfDarkness]

On this point, I think if they put a $30 tax on disposable vapes as opposed to the reusable ones, it might take care of the issue. Although they might figure out a way to make the vapes able to take new coils and refillable, but then just have people dispose of them anyways because they dont want to do it.

[u/SweetPeaRiaing → u/Both_Cat_6977]

This mindset definitely is part of the problem. If everyone took responsibility to recycle phones, to refuse to use single use vapes and other bad products, to walk more or take public transit, to eat less meat, etc, it would make a difference. When we think “what I do doesn’t matter,” it’s only true when millions of people are thinking that way. Unfortunately, corporations are ruining the environment because *we are buying the things they sell.*

[u/Isekaimerican → u/Both_Cat_6977]

I feel this way about racism. We can and should try as hard as we can to overcome our individual biases, but at the same time there's billions of dollars being pumped into the media to turn people against minorities, to prevent them from rising up together.

[u/HauntingHarmony → u/Isekaimerican]

Because it is so obvious it is incredibly difficult for me to understand how people can be like "individuals make such a little difference, so might aswell not bother". Each individual has to make a small difference, each country has to make a bigger difference because they are bigger.

Just because we are small doesnt mean that what we do has 0 effect. Many small effects add up into a big effect. And it blows my mind how people refuse to acknowledge that. It blows my mind how people cant understand how zero difference is different from small difference.

[u/Old_Quality1990 → u/HauntingHarmony]

Speaking of individuals, you know what's crazy, is that the election could have been changed from trump to Kamala with 115,000 votes between Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Individual actions matter but it's hard not to be beat down when we push individual action all the time and don't push corporations to do more or as much.

[u/cromwell515 → u/neversummer427]

Yep it’s like how recently I learned Captain Planet and the Reduce Reuse Recycle movement of the 90s was funded by oil companies to do exactly that. Brainwash folks into thinking “the power is yours” and they’ll more overlook the faults of shitty corporations

Edit: I’m wrong on the Captain Planet thing. A friend told me that last weekend and I believed them and can’t find a source. But the Reduce Reuse Recycle thing is true and was backed by oil companies lying so they could sell people on the idea that disposable plastic was ok since it was recyclable but in truth it’s not feasibly recyclable and especially now most plastic that is recycled is put into landfills

Source (and there are others)

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled

[u/Foxwildernes → u/cromwell515]

The whole Carbon Footprint tracking of your personal damages to environment was created By BP you know the oil company who scientifically proved they were destroying the planet in the 70s and buried it so deep and ran counter information campaigns to this day.

[u/Successful_Car1670 → u/Foxwildernes]

Was actually Exxon and they presented to the Bush 41 administration but chief of staff Sununu refused to have it heard. Then they all doubled down on denial and fed the beast some more. They were receiving massive subsidies when oil was at its sustained cheapest prices ever in the 90s way until 2006 when reality was hitting but Exxon was briefly the biggest corporation by stock price

[u/dmonsterative → u/Successful_Car1670]

Lol, Sununu, whose corruption scandal was about misuse of military jets for personal travel. Perfect.

[u/Sandgrease → u/cromwell515]

Ahh for real? Captain Planet is a fucking psyop?? Is nothing sacred!?!

[u/dravenonred → u/Sandgrease]

Honestly makes sense in hindsight that all the villains are Lone Wolf Psychopaths and not organized industrial entities.

Well shit.

[u/gurnard → u/Sandgrease]

I guess it suddenly makes sense that the bad guys are all just trashing the environment for no reason. They're generally not in it for money or anything. Gotta obfuscate what a real polluter looks like, and how to combat them effectively.

[u/UGOTAIDSYO → u/cromwell515]

Captain Planet is brought to you by Ted Turner (and Barbara Pyle)

[u/liquidsyphon → u/cromwell515]

Penn and Teller have a great episode on why Recycling is Bullshit

[u/Clock_Roach → u/liquidsyphon]

Plastic recycling is mostly bullshit. Paper recycling is meh. Aluminum recycling is the real deal. Recycling aluminum is vastly cheaper than processing new aluminum from ore.

[u/Wolf_Protagonist → u/liquidsyphon]

Penn and Teller are also Libertarians- Libertarians in general are against any government regulations- good or bad, environmental and otherwise. They (Libertarians) are basically the corporate boot licking party.

I like Penn and Teller and the show Bullshit and they have made some great points, and in general challenge "Conventional Wisdom", but you should watch the show with their background in mind and maybe a little salt.

A lot of the way "Recycling" currently works is bullshit. The concept itself is a good idea. Also let's keep in mind that it's Reduce> Reuse> and Recycle, in that order because Recycling should only be done if we can't do the other two.

[u/Trrollmann → u/cromwell515]

Brainwash folks into thinking “the power is yours”

Well... it factually is. Sure was indeed intended to shift blame (and they are partially to blame), but to think individuals don't have power when a solid 80% of pollution comes from consumers...?

[u/HerryKun → u/cromwell515]

Still Whataboutism. Recycling is good and corporate greed does not change that.

[u/buddhist557 → u/neversummer427]

Yes, John Oliver taught me the crying Native American commercial was paid for by corporations to squarely put the onus on us, not them.

[u/IlIIlllIIIIIIl → u/buddhist557]

And that "Native American" was actually Italian.

[u/buddhist557 → u/IlIIlllIIIIIIl]

Whaddya mean-ah? 🤌

[u/IlIIlllIIIIIIl → u/buddhist557]

He named himself Iron Eyes Cody but was born Espera Oscar de Conti.

https://giphy.com/gifs/bgT142FWjRwV4hWsvX

[u/Denialmedia → u/buddhist557]

https://giphy.com/gifs/u2RGgVCSo2oow

[u/ComfyFrog → u/buddhist557]

BP invented the carbon footprint for that

[u/SmellGestapo → u/neversummer427]

Companies absolutely hate paper straws, because most customers hate them. The changes are largely being driven by governments banning plastic straws.

As for the cups, the one on the left is not recyclable while the one on the right is.

[u/Flawedsuccess → u/neversummer427]

I thought it was because that one turtle did too much coke and got the straw stuck in its nose

[u/ProfilerXx → u/neversummer427]

Preach brother!

[u/Strength-Helpful → u/neversummer427]

This. The same time that paper straw fad was going viral, they deregulated diesel engines on eighteen wheelers. Guess which story got more media attention.

[u/OkPosition4563 → u/neversummer427]

But we also have to remember that many companies produce things for people consuming it. By reducing consumption, globalism and focusing locally we may not fix everything but we reduce how much crap gets produced. Dont buy something new if the old thing is still working. There is no need to ship tropical fruits around half the globe completely out of season. Dont buy cheap crap from the internet. The list goes on.

[u/No_Kangaroo1994 → u/OkPosition4563]

Exactly. Oil companies have done incredibly harmful things to the planet in search of profit, but that profit comes from our wallets. If the companies these people are talking about suddenly shifted to a net-zero climate impact, our lives and luxuries would change radically and most people would have a tough time adjusting.

Don't buy things you don't need, if you need them buy second-hand, if you can't, buy local. Don't drive and waste gas, take the bus, a train, walk, or bike if you can. Make food at home, etc.

[u/b1ack1323 → u/neversummer427]

I work in energy and can tell you that decreasing your AC usage during a heat wave is not bullshit.

We actually do a ton of load management including taking large facilities off the grid and load shedding them to save power.  During peak demand we will move entire facilities o generators and/or have them shut down for the day to keep the lights on.

[u/Odd-Scientist-2529 → u/b1ack1323]

How do you decide what goes off grid, and when, what types of facilities would you get shut down temporarily / on generators?

[u/b1ack1323 → u/Odd-Scientist-2529]

We get dispatch notifications from utilities and grid operators to start gens under emergency conditions based on forecast supply and demand.

[u/Odd-Scientist-2529 → u/neversummer427]

The paper straws came from a viral video of a straw stuck in a turtles nose.

[u/CaptServo → u/neversummer427]

Times square uses a lot of energy, but the bulk of that energy is ... HVAC

[u/CartsOfDarkness → u/neversummer427]

I'll never understand this take. Why would corporations change anything if people all throw a hissy fit about needing to sip out of a cup? You guys do understand that some of these changes will effect us right?... there's no magical world where corporations cut down massively on emissions and disposable plastic without it effecting us at all. People bitch the same way about grocery stores switching to paper bags, imo y'all don't give two shits about the environment and if companies made the vague changes you hint at you'd still be bitching. Not trying to give corporations a pass, they are fucking the environment, but a significant portion of it is for our benefit and convenience.

[u/HumanTraffic2 → u/neversummer427]

I mean I get what you're saying but isn't the issue with straws that they end up in water ways and oceans?

Also not sure about OP. What cups went from paper to plastic?

[u/ablatner → u/HumanTraffic2]

My understanding of plastic straw and bag bans is that they reduce local pollution, ie litter on the streets and in local water ways.

[u/nullish_convalescent → u/neversummer427]

Corporations make things for your consumption or are they just doing it for shits & gigs?

[u/chundamuffin → u/neversummer427]

People act like corporations are not just groups of people buying expensive machines and trying to make some stuff people want.

[u/_c_manning → u/neversummer427]

Corporate emissions are a direct result of the people's consumption.

[u/Almostlongenough2 → u/neversummer427]

Really this can be extended to recycling as a whole, it was a burden put on consumers from companies that heavily used cheap plastics so they wouldn't have to switch to more expensive but environmentally-friendly alternatives.

[u/Fabulous-Sea-1590 → u/neversummer427]

what do giant advertisements do for us?

The only human endeavor that matters, of course. Making money for the rich.

[u/TheBSQ → u/neversummer427]

This is so true. It’s like when you see people get mad at someone for driving a giant gas-guzzling truck that gets horrible mileage. Like, you’re getting mad at the wrong person!

That person who bought the truck is entirely blameless for the pollution their purchase causes.

[u/_c_manning → u/TheBSQ]

That person who bought the truck is entirely blameless for the pollution their purchase causes.

Sarcasm?

[u/SnorriGrisomson → u/neversummer427]

Corporations do things because people buy them.
If you buy plastic they will sell plastic, it's not the corporation’s fault, it's yours. Stop shifting the blame.

[u/ZhaozhouCongshen]

Some FB tier meme here.

[u/agenturensohn → u/ZhaozhouCongshen]

yeah I thought this was r/comedycemetery

[u/AcctAlreadyTaken]

No one eating at McDonald's thinks they are saving anything. Also no one asked for paper straws, companies make these decisions for the marketing and for the cost.

[u/lazespud2 → u/AcctAlreadyTaken]

Not necessarily companies. Many local governments have banned them, plastid silverware and more; or only offered them if asked.

[u/underisk → u/lazespud2]

They bribed and lobbied politicians such that the only environmental policy that would reasonably pass was the most ineffective one that also makes people resent environmentalism. It’s not an accident.

[u/DrawCurvev]

The illusion of progress is capitalism’s favorite product

[u/DARfuckinROCKS → u/DrawCurvev]

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism.

[u/Izan_TM]

have you ever stopped to think why new paper straws dissolve when trying to drink from them but old paper cups did not? it's because paper cups are coated in either plastics or PFAS. They weren't actually better for the environment than modern plastic cups made of bioplastics

[u/Admirable_Loss4886 → u/Izan_TM]

Also isn’t the paper straw initiative less about plastic use and meant to save turtles and wildlife from getting poked and impaled by the straws?

[u/Annual_Strategy_6206 → u/Admirable_Loss4886]

Yes

[u/Shap3rz → u/Izan_TM]

scrolled though too many upvotes for this. Paper doesn’t hold water lol.

[u/xyvyx → u/Izan_TM]

had to scroll too far to find this.
I mean, I get it... we're all cynical. Corporations keep doing evil shit. Because we let them. We keep electing people that let corporations do whatever they want, pay less taxes & get away with it.

They keep ragebaiting incels with immigrant and trans BS while they go back to raping the environment.... and kids.

[u/swallowflyer47143 → u/Izan_TM]

Wax.... Paper cups were coated in wax much more commonly than plastics.

[u/artemasad → u/swallowflyer47143]

My previous job was in a manufacturing of paper cups and we used polyethylene. Many customers request to go with some kind of alternatives like polylactic acid (probably for their corporate "sustainability" initiate) but never last as it costs much more.

[u/kicos018 → u/swallowflyer47143]

Were. Waxed cups can't be recycled with normal paper and the coating is useless for hot liquids like coffee or tea.

Usually PE Coating was used in the McDonalds paper cups (the one in the picture) because it was the cheapest option. It's also the most durable, but not biodegradable and very hard to recycle.

Afaik the new plastic cup is not from bioplastic, but from 50% PCR (Post Consumer Recycling), which is recycled plastic and way easier to recycle again, and 50% bio-based materials.

[u/Internal_Rise2658 → u/Izan_TM]

Someone talking sense over here👆

[u/TaliaCashmerez]

The way the paper straw completely dissolves before you’re even halfway through a large iced coffee is the real tragedy here.

[u/bent_crater → u/TaliaCashmerez]

its also that unappealing rough texture

[u/Punkpunker → u/bent_crater]

God awful glue aftertaste too.

[u/hail2theKingbabee → u/TaliaCashmerez]

I just removed the lid and drink from the cup

[u/Pure_Possession_1KG → u/hail2theKingbabee]

Sorry I’m too stupid I’ll spill my coffee on myself and accidentally crash my car, possibly killing a family of geese

[u/BigDemeanor43 → u/Pure_Possession_1KG]

Maybe I'm overthinking, but isn't there multiple answers here? If you're spilling coffee and gonna crash then you're talking about coffee that is hot...

Doesn't Starbucks give you a paper cup with a plastic lid to drink out of for hot drinks?

And the whole paper cup/paper straw thing...just bring a metal thermos and/or a metal straw? See if the coffee place will use your thermos, if not, just dump the liquid from cup to cup? If you don't like paper straws then bring a metal straw?

Idk, just seems like first world problems here lol.

[u/ZoyaRosettez → u/TaliaCashmerez]

Just drink it faster before the straw melts" is the official motto of 2026.

[u/froderick → u/TaliaCashmerez]

Honest question: How long does it take you to consume that type of drink, typically?

Because I have zero issues consuming a large drink with a paper straw and I don't experience anything of the sort.

[u/MiraStellaz → u/TaliaCashmerez]

There is no heartbreak quite like the straw melting into your sweet tea 10 minutes into a road trip.

[u/Leemage → u/TaliaCashmerez]

They recently changed the straw that comes with the juice box to paper. It’s hard to poke into the hole and it dissolves completely with a 3 yr old who doesn’t know not to chew it.

[u/05041927]

This meme is propaganda

For idiots.

[u/the_cave_allegory → u/05041927]

Perfect for this stupid ass website!

[u/tearlesspeach2]

The paper cup had plastic wax coating, nice try though

[u/Adept-Opinion8080 → u/tearlesspeach2]

Old time paper cuts definitely were food grade wax. Newer ones started trending to use a plastic coating as it was significantly cheaper than the food grade wax.

[u/BadRabiesJudger]

Dude if all it does is keep a few more animals from eating a straw or a turtle getting it lodged up their nose then whatever i am for it. Clearly countries and corporations just decimating the environments are 100x worse. I'm sorry everyone's feelings get hurt when the straw doesn't last a single use. Maybe halfway through just sip from the god damn cup like you would with any other drink in your house.

[u/billsboy88 → u/BadRabiesJudger]

Anyone bitching about their straw sounds like a damn baby to me. Do they still drink from their toddler sippy cup at home, too?

[u/Drahkir9]

I don’t understand the whole paper straw culture war. I think I’ve had to use one once, maybe twice. Where are people going that paper straws are being pushed on them?!

EDIT: RIP EU... my condolences (but also you guys at least give a shit which is great, wish I could say the same for my country and countrymen)

[u/CommanderInQueefs → u/Drahkir9]

It's law here in Canada.

[u/jeanborrero → u/Drahkir9]

Europe has them everywhere

[u/OtherwiseAct8126 → u/Drahkir9]

But we in the EU don't complain a lot about this because besides fast food chains you really just drink out of a bottle or a glass, I really don't encounter straws all that often.

[u/rmrehfeldt → u/Drahkir9]

Big Cities. Us rural folks don’t go to the fast food every day, so we get the plastic straws.

[u/Dramatic-Aide-1675]

Facebook humor

[u/Due_Yesterday_2850]

McDonald's suck

[u/boiledcowmachine]

The old one is paper mixed with plastic 

[u/HubrisOfApollo → u/boiledcowmachine]

i thought it was wax

[u/cipheron → u/HubrisOfApollo]

They moved away from actual wax decades ago. The problem was that wax melts if you put hot liquids in the cup, so as soon as they developed plastic coatings those almost entirely replaced wax, this was around the 60s/70s.

[u/boiledcowmachine → u/HubrisOfApollo]

"Thin layer of plastic" it says... But the sources are not really specific what kind of plastic

[u/Common-Accountant-57]

My answer is to not use straws. I don’t eat out very often either. Paper straws suck, everyone’s got microplastics in their balls now. It’s a lose/lose situation.

[u/EnjoyTheMovie_You2]

No but you’re saving a few turtles

[u/Candle-Jolly]

OP has 40,000 posts in half a year of being on Reddit. Does that seem human, mods?

also this is obvious ragebait

EDIT: ignore the top part, I'm dumb, I misread.

It's still low-quality rage bait though. Does OP think people are asking for plastic cups? redonk

[u/cipheron → u/Candle-Jolly]

40,000 post karma doesn't mean 40,000 posts. If the upvotes on this one are an average that's < 300 posts to get that much Karma. That doesn't mean they're not a bot of course, but it's way less than 40,000 posts to get that much of a score.

However there is some formula Reddit uses other than a straight addition here, so it might be double that, but still it could be explained with 3-4 posts a day over 7 months.

[u/Gewt92 → u/Candle-Jolly]

They have 139 posts.

[u/Skibidibum69]

People complaining about paper straws is so much more pathetic

[u/CharmedWoo]

That 'paper' cup also contains plastic, otherwise it would leak and crumble before you finish your drink. Because of these layers glued together, it can't be recycled. The complete plastic cup does contain more plastic, but because it is just plastic it can be recycled.

[u/Chole_Wunt]

I really cant stand the profoundly ignorant "I know everything because common sense" type shit. Whoever made this looks EXACTLY like the last frame in the picture. Guaranteed.

Since the top 10 comments here are currently equally self-confidently retarded:

The issue with plastic straws is the form factor, not the plastic volume.

• They are small, lightweight, and not easily captured by mechanical recycling sorters, so they tend to fall through and end up as litter.

• They are non-rigid and break into fragments, contributing to microplastics.

• They are rarely recycled in practice regardless of the polymer partly due to size and contamination.

• They are non-essential for most users, which made them a low-cost target for behavior change and symbolic campaigns.

There is a lot of ambiguity around recycling in general. But what is unambiguous is this is a non-issue. Stop sucking down sugary garbage from McDonalds like a nasty incel neckbeard and this will stop being an issue for you. If youre really this bent up over paper straws, youre a quantifiable loser.

[u/Notyourdaisy]

At the least say you can recycle the 2026 cup. You can’t recycle the straw. I think that could be a point except only about 9% of all things recycled actually are.

[u/Izan_TM → u/Notyourdaisy]

these "eco friendly" plastic cups are less about recycling and more about being made from bioplastics that can be broken down in industrial composters. I have no data on wether any of these fast food cups actually end up in industrial composters or if it's just greenwashing bullshit, but old paper cups were bad for the environment in their own ways (either plastic coatings which make them unrecyclable or PFAS coatings that make them awful in their own way)

[u/santorinichef → u/Notyourdaisy]

Also you couldn't recycle the old cup.

[u/Puzzle-Necked]

You can drink your drink without sucking a straw, OP

[u/a_x_shually]

I'm judging you if you buy food there no matter what it's wrapped in, if I'm being honest.

[u/Inevitable-Hour-Ends]

Stop buying fast food.

[u/phenderl]

Cook at home, drink tap water

[u/Popular_Wrangler9422]

Nobody that actually cares about environment is eating fast food

[u/notBackgroundtree]

I like what Wendy's did. Just made the lids same as coffee cups. I'm an adult I don't require a straw. Straws are for babies and people with drinking problems like the guy from airplane

[u/I_TRS_Gear_I]

Not saying the logic of big corporations pushing responsible plastic usage onto consumers is the right thing, but the reason they tried paper straws is because plastic straws are apparently notoriously difficult to recycle because they fall through the sifting equipment that’s is used to sort at recycling facilities.

It was never about the couple of grams of plastics, it was about the difficulty of processing them.

[u/suck_my_jargon]

90% of recycling programs are fake. Most of your recycling winds up in landfills anyways.

[u/Fatal_Syntax_Error]

Save your own life by not eating or drinking at McDonalds.

[u/Sparking-Ice]

Isn’t the adhesive they use to bind paper straws bad for you ?

[u/louisa1925]

Paper staws suck ass, so I bring metal straws to use.

[u/Loose_Perception_409]

Nobody thinks they’re saving the world.

[u/Lawfull_carrot]

Papercups are covered in a thin layer of plastic

[u/PandorasFlame1]

Where does McDonalds have paper straws? Also, the cups were coated in plastics even when they were paper, we just exchanged plastics.

[u/Oppaiking42]

Also the containers weren made from paper back in the day. They were made from paper plastic and a lot of adhesives. I imagine that the just plastic variant is in theory at least more recyclable than the multy material variant

[u/mokrates82]

The left cup is not made from paper but it's a mixture of paper and plastic which is not recyclable. The pure plastic cup is recyclable, though.

[u/FeralPsychopath]

Ive never seen the plastic cup in my life.

[u/Joltyboiyo]

Last time I had a McDonalds the cup was still paper, but ever since they added paper straws the top cover of the damn cups, that I think used to be paper or if not maybe some other material? Is now clear plastic. Like, McDonalds is gonna make the cheapest, shittiest paper straws they can and then replace something that (I think) used to be paper with plastic? Piss off.

I know paper straws can be done well cause one time while out I had a milkshake from McDonalds and the paper straw got too messed up to keep using, so when my mum stopped at a Costa to get a milkshake she got some paper straws from there and those were actually pretty solid and lasted long enough to finish my drink without issue, it's just McDonalds cheaps out with their shitty straws. If you're gonna force us to use paper straws to pretend you give a shit about the environment at least make them GOOD paper straws, for fuck sake.

[u/The-Bloody9]

Isn't there an oil refinery in Russia that been burning for a month, aside from all the new ones set on fire since then.... Lol.

[u/Marples3]

Those "paper" cups are coated with plastic

[u/BeenDragonn]

I have the best solution.

Quit eating out, stop giving then money.

[u/Letotheon]

Just a reminder, that the "paper cup" is indeed also a plastic cup with a paper cover on the outside - and therefore not recyclable. "Pure" plastic cups, on the other hand, can be recycled.

If the paper straws are really helpful in any way is a different question (no they don't)

[u/Original1Thor]

Bruh no one goes to McDonald's to save the world

[u/Medium-Sized-Jaque]

Anyone else remember the movie Jury Duty with Pauly Shore and how the killer's motive was about non-recyclable fast food containers? 

[u/Entire-Guess1228]

Ok so here's the thing. Paper straws actually predate plastic ones. But they used to be coated in wax, and they didn't fall apart when they got wet. Similarly Paper cups used to have a wax coating, now its plastic. We could easily get rid of plastic but people don't want to do something they see as old. Our great grandparents were infinitely more environmentally friendly than we are. But the current political radicals say anything and everything prior to 1964 is inherently bad no matter what.

[u/shawak456]

Meanwhile, American Army is the largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet. Yes, more than any other country on Earth.

[u/Specialist-Loli]

I have never seen a Paperstraw ever. Must be a stupid American thing.

[u/No_Masterpiece_3897]

Those 'paper' cups, actually have a plastic coating, making them less recyclable

(they weren't until someone actual figured out how to separate the mediums over the pandemic )

The purely plastic cups are recyclable, as it's just one material.

[u/More_Raisin_2894]

Im surprised people still eat McDonald's its been 3 years or so for me. It got expensive just like everything else (sigh)

[u/DidYouKnowImNotReal]

Sabe duh torltuls

[u/Longjumping-Jury-861]

I’m still not sure why we need straws

[u/GoodDayToCome]

The people who endlessly complain about paper straws are the people who are making any form of change for environmental reasons impossible.

What do you think any politician is going to do when they know that supporting the tiniest little change that might very very mildly inconvenience someone is likely to cause a histrionic reaction that lasts decades?

and no matter what it is the people who are the loudest voices about the climate will never be satisfied, this thread is full of people hating on it for not going far enough while also hating it goes too far - if we can't celebrate little victories then we will never have large victories.

personally my last hope is that AI makes it easy for people to do the positive things they idly wish for without any of the flighty types getting their feathers ruffled and starting a full on war because someone suggests not pouring toxic sludge into rivers or something

[u/DrTommyNotMD]

Never forget corporations don’t exist without consumers.

[u/Seminolehighlander]

I hate seeing people drinking their sugar addiction in general, but it’s even worse when they’re drinking out of these cups. Breaks my heart for their future health and the health of the planet.

[u/Jaghatai_K]

Don't buy mcdonalds?

[u/frolf_grisbee]

I don't think anyone actually believes they're saving the world by using a paper straw. This image is a strawman

[u/DarkHero6661]

....Have any of you ever spilled water on a piece of paper?

How do you even reach the conclusion that the 'paper' cup is actually paper? It would leak very quickly.

No, the paper cup is coated with plastic, and this mix of paper and plastic can't be recycled.

So, yes, the plastic cup is actually much better.

[u/Edgezg]

Meanwhile data centers are drying up rivers like the Rio Grande

[u/artofthesmart]

Honestly if they were both compostable plastic I'd probablyeat there more.

[u/JAY009090]

Just put a recyclable lid on, which you can fucking drink from. How is it that difficult?

[u/GoalTop8269]

https://giphy.com/gifs/HnQaPryXpjRizyz84N

[u/Tall-Fish-6368]

Mcdonalds doesnt even use paper straws

[u/Itamita]

The coating of the paper cup is still plastic to maintain its rigidness just like the aluminum cans in coke have a plastic liner

[u/ScreamPhoenix1990]

For all the whining about paper straws, I've never once seen a paper straw in a restaurant.

[u/I_am_Nic]

Wait until you find out that you can recycle cups and bottles very well.

[u/USDXBS]

I have no love or loyalty to plastic. Give me an alternative that is as good, or ALMOST as good, and I will use it.

I also don't care about my footprint. My local Wal Mart has produced more waste this morning than I have all year, and they got rewarded for it.

When Canada banned plastic straws, I went out and bought two 500x boxes. Now I'll have straws for the rest of my life. Wal Mart has probably thrown out more plastic straws in a day than I have ever used.

[u/Fiigwort]

Getting rid of plastic straws was SPECIFICALLY so that they didn't get stuck up turtle's noses. The rest of the environment be damned

[u/Drayenn]

Straws are compostable and the cup is now recyclable when neither was this way before?

Its wild to see people go so crazy about a minimal effort thing like paper straws. I dont mind them, but feel free to.. use your mouth to drink instead, or maybe drop pepsi from your diet for a reusable water bottle?

[u/Odd_Dragonfruit_2662]

https://giphy.com/gifs/wVT6nAbRa5G6kYw5iE
Meanwhile, rivers in Asia still looking like this

[u/False-Supermarket668]

I dont really like either

[u/desmond609]

If you are at McDonald's..... you have already lost

[u/dilldoeorg]

paper straws were never about plastics, but about obstructions in sea life, which ends up kill them cause it doesn't break down.

you can easily rip/destory that plastic cup with your bear hands. but you can never do that to a plastic straw.

[u/Allcyon]

What the hell is with all the bullshit right wing propaganda in this sub lately?

[u/OneFuzzyStoner]

Wouldn’t have to do any of this “save the planet” shit. If people just quit being garbage humans and didn’t litter.

[u/PomegranateHot9916]

the straw was only turned to paper because people felt feelings about hearing that these plastic straws, which like much other garbage was dumped into the ocean. would go on an get swallowed by turtles or some shit and strange them.

they didn't do it to protect the environment or save the planet. they didn't even do it to save the turtles. it was just to make people sit back down again. and it worked. because most people don't know shit about ass.

also caprisun is still sold with plastic straws. curious isn't it.

if the people in power gave any fucks at all, they wouldn't ban plastic straws.
they would force companies who produce plastic and plastic products to fund plastic recycling and projects to remove plastics from the ocean. as a requirement for them to be allowed to produce plastic or plastic products.

you see one big problem with plastic recycling is that most plastic isn't cost effective to recycle.
recyclers only want to recycle the plastic that can earn them profits.
but if the cost is off-set by siphoning funds from the companies responsible for creating the plastic in the first place, then they might just do the job.

[u/DrWkk]

In case anyone is worried about the forever chemicals PFAS, what do you think the straw is lined with to stop it dissolving into the drink immediately!