Question from Kathy
I am looking to buy stainless steel drink ware, including straws, to use for both hot and cold beverages. My thoughts conflict on nickle content vs environmental responsibility. Comments?
Debra’s Answer
As a rule I don’t recommend stainless steel anything if there is another alternative, both because of heavy metals that can leach into food and beverages from the stainless steel but also because of the environmental effects of producing steel. Yes, much steel today is recycled, which lessens the impact, but it still requires mining of metals and heavy industrial processes.
I’m not sure what environmental responsibility you are referring to exactly, or what use you have that requires unbreakable drinkware and straws.
Is your question the health effects of nickel from stainless steel straws versus the environmental impact of throwing away numerous plastic straws?
First I would question if straws need to be used at all. I rarely use straws. I have some reusable glass straws, but since I rarely use straws, they rarely get used. If you need a reusable straw, these glass straws would be much better from a health viewpoint than stainless steel, and better for the environment in terms of manufacturing as well. Glass straws may seem fragile, but they are actually quite heavy-duty and well made.
If you really want to use stainless steel straws there probably would be little problem with nickel. In order for a metal to leach into a beverage, there needs to be a factor of time present, and a beverage whooshing through the straw for less than a second is hardly enough time for leaching. What would be more important would be the time the straw is sitting in the glass or the time your lips are on the straw. And then with stainless steel drinkware, the length of time the beverage is in the glass.
Hi Debra,
Are those brands like tiger, thermos stainless steel mugs safe?
Please see Q&A: Stainless Steel Leaching into Food and Beverages for more information on stainless steel. You would need to find out what type of stainless steel is used to make these mugs.
Guess I didn’t clarify my question. My thought is to purchase stainless steel cups once, as the glass is fragile and needs replaced w/ how my kids treat them. This way I will never have to replace them. Being as coffee and tea stain teeth, I like using straws but have concerns about leaching plastic as well as trash. KathyL
COMMENT FROM DEBRA:
Certainly you will never need to replace stainless steel cups, but I am concerned about heavy metals leaching. Better would be porcelain enamel cups, like for camping. No leaching there. As I said before, I’m not so concerned about leaching from stainless steel straws because of contact time.