Drinking from a Straw Doesn't Have to Suck

For me, Earth Day is every day, But since Earth Day is "officially" in April, I wanted to celebrate  by giving away some reusable items that helped me create less waste.

I'm a mom who runs a small nonprofit, has two kinds in elementary school and a husband who travels at times for work.  Sometimes, I don't have the time / energy to cook at home so we do eat out a few times a week.   That said - I hate how much waste gets generated at restaurants, and if there was a less wasteful way to eat out, we'd probably eat out more often.  If you set aside all of the packaging for the food, and just look at the waste from drinks - it is CRAZY.

If you just take the single largest fast food chain, McDonald's - you will see they serve over 64 million meals each day.  That means that if each meal had a drink, with a straw, over the course of a year, McDonald's generates about 23,360,000,000 plastic straws in their waste.  That number is too big for me to even try to say.  Perhaps only a portion of the people get a drink, but if you add the drinks for Subway, Burger King, Wendy's and the other fast food chains - the amount of waste is overwhelming. 

A while back, I had a chance to hear Beth Terry, the Author of My Plastic Free Life, speak.  She shared a number of reusable products that helped her reduce her plastic consumption down to practically nothing.  I was intrigued by her Glass Dharma Straw, so I ordered one for each person in the family, and we all love them!

If you are already a pretty eco-minded, minimal waste person, this is for you.  If you already have your reusable cup and bring your own shopping bags/containers to the store, this could be your next step for reducing waste.

We have a gift pack of three Glass Dharma (an amber shorty straw, a smoothie straw, a beautiful bend straw, as well as a cleaning brush)  glass straws you can win.  These straws are sustainable, reusable, durable, easy to clean and suitable for hot or cold drinks.    Glass straw - but will it break?  I can tell you we have accidentally dropped one on our tile floor, and it didn't break.  They are made of glass, but they are incredibly durable!

To be entered to win the prize, please leave a comment below.  Tell us how you try to reduce the amount of plastic waste you generate in your day-to-day life, and one thing you already do to make less waste.    Be sure to leave me an email/contact if you win!  Winner will be announced on April 22nd!  You must be a resident of the U.S. to participate.

Sorry for the late announcement for the winner... The Random Generator chose #2  - Congratulations Annette - you win the prize pack!!