I prefer a straw at a public eating facility because no one has touched it if it is inside a paper wrapper. I've been in restaurant restrooms when a staff person has used the restroom, and left without washing her hands. :-| I will consider bringing my own in order to reduce plastic waste.

I've never heard of a stainless steel straw...anyone able to tell me how clean that can be kept? I would imagine there would be buildup over time which would be tough to remove from such a narrow space.

You could clean them with a pipe cleaner. The fuzzy things kids make projects out of. Tubes can be made of many kinds of metals, alloys, and materials. Seriously, it's a tube.

Choosing a alternative to plastic or no straw at all is such a simple way to make the world a little greener (and sometimes it's more fun!)

Daedra
Owner & Artist @ Strawesome.com

GlassDharma straws have the best life-time guarantee against breakage! No risk and lots of fun to use!! They gave away over 600 straws to people who wrote letters to restaurants asking them to not automatically give out plastic straws!!

My stainless steal straw is from a natural food cooperative and made for straining bulk teas. But i use it as a straw, it works very well and is easy to keep clean.

I love my strawesome glass straw! Take it with me to restaurants and it feels good to not add more waste to the landfllls.

I was also going to suggest Strawsome! I just discovered them recently and can't wait to get one!