The menace in your glass
Around 100million straws are used in the UK every day
They are one of the top ten items that litter beaches
They can end up lodged in the nostrils of sea turtles and can perforate the stomachs of penguins
Most plastic straws are made from polypropylene, derived from crude oil
The oldest manmade straw was found in a tomb in Sumeria (now Iraq) dating to 2000-3000 BC. It was made of gold and precious stone
In the 19th century, naturally hollow rye grass was used as straws
American Marvin Stone patented a wax-coated paper straw in 1888