🥤 National SKIP the STRAW Day 2025 – Feb 28

🚯 National SKIP the STRAW Day ORIGIN & HISTORY

A group of nine 8th-graders called the Coral Keepers along with Susan Tate of Whitehall, Michigan created this day in 2017 as part of their project to cease disposable straw usage. Straws that are disposable have a devastating effect on the environment but also can create some health problems as well.  National SKIP the STRAW Day is celebrated on the 4th Friday in February where the teenagers entered the Lexus Eco Challenge, a national STEM competition.

The students that take part in this competition work on projects to help address environmental problems, not unlike the EEP (Earth’s Environmental Pollution). After the students watched a movie where a turtle had a straw stuck up its nose, they were compelled to do something about the usage of plastic drinking straws.

Benefits from Straws

• Using a straw has its place; for one thing, it’s sanitary. Glasses have harmful bacteria that result from cleaning practices and aluminum cans are also not a wholly sanitized surface. When drinking from a straw, you don’t ingest this bacterium.
• It also cuts down on spillage from tipping a glass over and it’s more convenient especially if your beverage has ice.
• People that have motor, strength, and swallowing disorders struggle sometimes with using glass. In general, the usage of straws can be beneficial but also sometimes is a necessity.
• When you drink soda, coffee, or tea with a straw you lessen the staining of your front teeth. If you use a biodegradable or reusable straw you can flash those pearly whites because you’re doing a good thing!

Plastic Straw Alternatives

Stainless steel straws are good but many people don’t like the feel of metal on their skin. Some metal straws have silicone tips to place in your mouth. These are better but why not get a straw made entirely from silicone. There are straws made from glass believe it or not. Some unconventional options are sugarcane and bamboo straws. Probably my least favorite are paper straws. It’s a choice, but for me ranks at the bottom of the list.

All these plastic straw alternatives are durable, long-lasting, flexible, recyclable, portable, and can be used with hot and cold beverages. Either forgo the usage of straws that aren’t recyclable or at least use biodegradable ones.

🌍 HOW to Celebrate & Observe National SKIP the STRAW Day?

Not sure how to LOVE the day? We’ve got a few interesting ideas to consider that may help get you started.
Here are some activities that you can do on National SKIP the STRAW Day!

💙 CLEAN up

Volunteer to help clean up a park or seaside coastline. While you’re there, see just how many straws you can pick up.

💙 DISCOVER the effects

Watch a documentary called Straws by Linda Booker.

💙 TAKE part in a Global trend

Use a biodegradable such as a nice bamboo straw or any other type of reusable straw including stainless steel.

💙 FIND local events

Events might be going on during the day on National SKIP the STRAW Day; take part in these activities.

💙 RAISE Social Awareness

Use social media posts with the hashtags #NationalSkipTheStrawDay, #SkiptheStraw, #EnvironmentAwareness, #Recycling, #ActivistHolidays, #FebruaryHolidays, #Holiday, #FindADayToLOVE, #iHEARTdays to support the importance of celebrating, promoting, and sharing with the world why you ❤️ National SKIP the STRAW Day.

LEARN more about the importance of KEEPING OUR OCEANS CLEAN of plastics

OCEAN CLEAN UP — A WHALE’S TALE

HOW TO KEEP PLASTICS OUT OF OUR OCEAN

ELEVEN Important Facts you never knew about National SKIP the STRAW Day

1. Sumerians drank beer out of communal vats through long straws made from reed.
2. Archaeologists think golden and silver tubes some 5000 years ago in the Early Bronze Age found near southern Russia in 1897 were the earliest known straws. They even had strainer tips so as not to get sediment from the bottom of the cisterns.
3. The usage of paper straws started in 1888. Straws then started to be made in mass quantities after World War II.
4. Millions of sea creatures, like turtles and seabirds, get entangled in plastic litter or mistake plastic straws for food every year. This can harm or even kill the wildlife.
5. The disposable straw became popular in the 1970s. Today the United States uses anywhere between 170 to 490 million straws each day.
6. While you’re focusing on skipping the straw today, think about all the waste that doesn’t float on top and sinks to the bottom of the ocean!
7. Plastic waste is expected to outnumber the fish in the seas by the year 2050.
8. Plastic straws can take up to 200 years to decompose and break down naturally.
9. Single-use plastic straws might seem small and innocuous, but they add up to a giant problem. If you lined up all the straws used in one year, they could wrap around the Earth 2.5 times!
10. There are many alternatives to plastic straws like biodegradable straws (paper, wild grass, bamboo, papaya leaf stem), reusable straws (steel, silicone, glass, bamboo), or even edible straws (wheat, sugar, rice, pasta)! Using these can help reduce plastic waste and save our planet.
11. By saying “no” to plastic straws and choosing reusable or biodegradable options, we can all make a big difference in protecting our environment.

Famous PEOPLE also born around the 4th Friday in February

• Sean Astin

  Amerian actor best known for his roles in The Goonies, Rudy, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Born 1971.

  SEAN ASTIN Quote

  “You can’t play a hobbit if you’re not prepared to be a part of nerd culture.”

• Adelle Davis

  American nutritionist and author best known for her book series Let’s Stay Healthy. Born 1904.

  ADELLE DAVIS Quote

  “We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to become much more than what we are.”

  “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.”

• Ric Flair

  American professional wrestler whose career spans almost 40 years. His ring-strutting antics and signature call were inspired from “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis. Just like Dane does it: CLAP CLAP … Wooooooo! Born 1949.

  RIC FLAIR Quote

  “To be the man, you gotta beat the man!”

Future DATES for National SKIP the STRAW Day

♻️ Drinking Straw FAQ

Where can the STRAW BAN be found?

• Seattle actually became the first major city in the USA to ban plastic straws in 2018. This so-called straw ban is part of a larger ordinance that also bans plastic utensils and cocktail forks.

How do you STOP plastic straws?

• Many bars, cafes, and restaurants put plastic straws in every drink. Request that your drink be served without a plastic straw in order to reduce plastic waste and protect the wildlife. In fact, bring your own reusable silverware. We also bring reusable stainless steel portable chopsticks.

Do we NEED straws?

• Actually many people with different types of disabilities and special needs rely upon straws for both their nutrition and hydration.

Who INVENTED the straw?

• Marvin Stone was an American who invented the contemporary drinking straw we all use. One day while enjoying a mint julep he became unhappy with the “green” flavors of the grass straw mixing with the whiskey. So he wrapped manila paper into a tube form and kept on sippin’.

The Imp💜rtance of National SKIP the STRAW Day

Using biodegradable or reusable straws can have some good benefits for you. We can treat the environment with respect and cut down on damaging plastic waste. Here are some reasons to possibly forgo using a straw entirely.

1. PUCKER Up

   Each time you pucker up to a straw, the skin around your lips wrinkle. This can lead to smoker’s lips. Also drinking from a straw puts air in your digestive system causing gas and bloating.

2. CLEAR the Air

   The production of plastic products is bad for the air. Disposable straws and other plastics are made using chemicals that produce HAPS (Hazardous Air Pollutants). These HAPS are odorless and colorless but if breathed in can cause cancer and reproductive problems. Disposable straws are made with recyclable plastic #5 which means polypropylene or just PP. However, they’re not recycled because they often slip through gaps on the recycling conveyor being so small. And they wind up in landfills anyway.

3. UPSET Tummy

   Disposable straws wind up in waterways and oceans. They become microplastics in the ocean. These microplastics get ingested by animals, fish, turtles, seagulls, and other animals. They’re harming the animals and if these animals have ingested microplastics this can result in serious health problems for adults if we then eat those animals. Seriously consider not using disposable straws today and do your part. We still do not know the ramifications of microplastics at this point.

Take A Sip Instead