Letter: Biodegradable Straws Good for Environment
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To the Editor:
Plastic straws have been shown to injure wildlife — particularly turtles and seals — and the environment in general.
If people stopped using straws in North Adams alone for a year — at a rate of 1.6 straws a day per person, on average in the U.S., and with a census of 13,657 people in 2013 — that would equal 584 straws per person a year, or 7,975,688 straws.
One alternative is straws made of polyhydroxyalkanoate, or PHA, which is plant-based and biodegradable.
One can purchase 10,000 such straws for $300.
I would like to note that Cafe Brewhaha serves paper straws and the Wild Oats Co-op sells them.
Patrick Hernandez
North Adams, Mass.
Tags: environment,
