Bring back paper straws

Perhaps professor (Scott Duke) Kominers (“Plastic straws: Ban ‘em or tax ‘em?,” July 16) is too young to remember that at one time there were no plastic straws – they were made of paper, probably lightly waxed. However, as a Harvard MBA, and a professor as well, one would have thought that he might have realized that just maybe there was a time before plastic.

Often they sat on the ice cream soda bar or lunch counter in a tall glass jar, with a metal lid that when lifted would bring up the straws (sometimes just an open jar). Probably not very sanitary, but we lived through it. Then came the single straws with the paper wrapping – a great invention that we could tear off one end and blow the wrapper into the face of our friends. Great times.

Anyway, throw out the plastic and steel straws, make paper straws again.

Ken Wilder

Spokane