Good idea in theory, bad idea in practice: paper straws

Since paying more attention to sustainability in Japan - in big part due to posts here on City Cost - we’ve been looking at ways to reduce our plastic usage. My husband saw these at Daiso recently, and thought he’d pick them up to try. I honestly prefer metal straws now, but was curious about these. The back of the packaging packaging said they were suitable for cold drinks, but not for warm drinks (I’ve never had a warm drink from a straw, but useful disclaimer I guess). I’d honestly only ever thought of paper straws as something to be used for crafts and not for actually drinking through - so what was the verdict?

No bueno. The straw got soggy even with a cold drink, so I wouldn’t recommend them at all. If you’re looking for an alternative to a plastic straw, I recommend metal or bamboo. It was also a little ironic that these paper straws came encased in a plastic sleeve, anyway.

We’ll use them for crafts with the kids, but for drinking through I give them a zero out of 10.