How to Say 'No Straw Please' Around the World

By: Lola Mendéz

If you’re able-bodied and don’t rely on plastic straws for health reasons it’s time to ditch your drinking straw habit for good. Once you’ve made a habit of asking for no straw where you live it can be challenging to keep up the momentum while traveling overseas due to language barriers. To make it easier for you to stick to your pledge to stop using single-waste plastic we’ve rounded up how to say ‘no straw please’ in 50 languages.

Plastic drinking straws have been banned in recent years in several countries including Taiwan, Jamaica, and Costa Rica. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, several plastic bans have been put on pause or are no longer being enforced in some U.S. states including Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Pennsylvania as some people believe that single-use items are more sanitary than reusable. The plastic industry has exploited the COVID-19 crisis by asking the U.S. government to put out a statement of support around the safety of single-use plastics. 

Disposable products aren't inherently safer to use than reusables during the pandemic. The virus can remain active on plastic for at least two days. Despite no known cases of COVID-19 from surface contact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged restaurants to consider using disposables upon reopening. Greenpeace USA released a statement that if governments force widespread use of disposables in restaurants it could lead to an ecological disaster. 

Plastic drinking straws are the epitome of single-use plastic as they’re very rarely used to consume more than one beverage. Drinking straws are made from polypropylene which isn’t easily recycled and degrades slowly. Plastic straws never biodegrade and it takes 200 years for a single plastic straw to degrade into smaller particles, known as microplastics, which are difficult to remove from the environment.

One billion plastic straws are used daily worldwide—half of which are used in the United States. Europeans use 25.3 billion plastic straws annually.  Lightweight plastic straws are often littered or blown out of trash cans. These plastic straws are detrimental to the environment and animal kingdom, they account for an estimated 90% of the rubbish in the sea. 8 million tons of plastic, including single-use drinking straws, enter the oceans each year. Sea Turtles and birds tend to eat the straws—the ingested plastics stay in the gut of animals until death.

According to Ocean Conservancy, plastic drinking straws are the 7th most collected waste item from beaches around the globe. In 2015, there were 7.5 million straws found on coastlines of the U.S. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch located halfway between Hawaii and California is twice the size of France and is accumulating more plastic waste at a rapid pace.

Fortunately, they’re one of the easiest single-use plastic items to stop using. The best thing you can do is go straw-free in order to avoid buying unnecessary products. After all, using straws can give you wrinkles! If you absolutely must use a straw invest in a sustainable reusable product such as glass, steel, or bamboo straws.

Take your reusable straw with you when you travel. In many countries, plastic straws may already be banned or it may not be customary for drinks to be served with them, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared to refuse a drinking straw when you order a drink. If you do have a reusable straw, you can communicate visually by showing you have your own straw so you won’t be offered a plastic one from the establishment. Learn how to say ‘no straw’ around the world with our handy guide to the phrase in 50 languages.

….Chinese..Chino….

不用飲管,謝謝 (bùyòng yǐn guǎn, xièxiè) 

….Spanish..Español….

Sin pajita por favor (Argentina, Chile, Spain, Uruguay)

Sin sorbete por favor (Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay)

Sin bombilla por favor (Bolivia, Chile)

Sin pitillo por favor (Colombia, Venezuela)

Sin pajilla por favor (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua)

Sin absorbente (Cuba)

Sin calimete por favor (Domincan Republic)

Sin popote por favor (Mexico)

Sin carrizo por favor (Panama)

Sin cañita por favor (Peru)

Sin sorbeto por favor (Puerto Rico)

Hindi

स्ट्रॉ नहीं चाहिए (straw nehi chahiye)

….Bengali..Bengalí….

Pipe chhara or doya kore Straw deben na, emni khabo

….Portuguese..Portugués….

Sem palha por favor or Não é preciso palhinhas, obrigado

….Russian..Ruso….

нет соломы пожалуйста (net solomy pozhaluysta)

….Japanese..Japonés….

ストローはいりません (sutorō wa iri masen) 

Punjabi

Koi straw nehi

….Turkish..Turco….

Pipet istemiyorum or Çubuk vermeyin

….Korean..Koreano….

빨대는 필요하지 않아요 (ppaldaeneun pil-yohaji anh-ayo) or 빨대를 사용 하지 마세요 (ppaldaeleul sayong haji maseyo)

….French..Frances….

Pas de paille s’il vous plaît

….German..Alemán….

Bitte ohne Trinkhalm or keinen Strohhalm

….Vietnamese..Vietnamita….

Không sử dụng ống hút

Tamil

ஸ்ட்ரா வேண்டாம் (sṭrā vēṇ-ṭām)

….Italian..Italiano….

Senza cannuccia, per favore

….Egyptian..Egipcio….

Bedoon shafata

….Iranian..iraní….

نی پلاستیکی نمیخام لوفتان (neye plastici nemikham lofan)

….Indonesian Bahasa..Indonesian Bahasa….

Tidak pakai sedotan plastik, tanpa sedotan, or saya mau minuman saya tanpa sedotan

….Polish..Polaco….

Poproszę bez słomkimk

….Moroccan Arabic..Árabe marroquí….

Bla sefafa

….Ukrainian..Ucranio….

без соломинки, будь ласка (bez solomynky, bud laska)

….Romanian..Rumano….

Fără pai, vă rog or nu doresc pai

Filipino

‘Wag na po ‘yong straw

….Dutch..Holandés….

Geen rietje alsjeblieft

….Thai..Tailandés….

ไม่เอาหลอดค่ะ (mái ow lawd kha for women, mái ow lawd kap for men)

….Khmer..Jemer….

អត់មានបំពុងបឺត (ot mean bompong birt)

….Malay..Malayo….

Tak nak straw or tak mau straw

….Nepali..Nepalí….

Malai straw nadinnus

Sinhala

Karunakara, Beema Bata epa

….Arabic..Arabe….

لا قش الشرب من فضلك (la qash alshurb min fadlik)

….Greek..Griego….

χωρίς καλαμάκι σε παρακαλώ (horeis kalamaki se parakalo)

….Hungarian..Húngaro….

Nem kérek szívószálat Köszönöm

….Czech..Checo….

Bez brčka prosím

….Swedish..Sueco….

Inget sugrör, tack

….Bulgarian..Búlgaro….

Без сламка моля (bez slamka molya)

….Finnish..Finlandés….

Ei olkia, kiitos or ei pilliä, kiitos

….Hebrew..Hebreo….

בלי קש בבקשה (bli kash bevakasha)

….Lithuanian..Lituano….

Prašau be šiaudelio

….Croatian..croata….

Bez plastične slamke, molim 

….Estonian..Estonio….

Kõrt pole vaja, aitäh

….Icelandic..Islandés….

Ekkert rör, takk fyrir

Euskera

Plastikozko lastoa ez mesedez 

Catalan

Sense palleta, si us plau

Afrikaans

Geen strooitjie, dankie

….Norweigan..Noruego…. 

Ingen sugerør, takk

….Serbian..Serbio….

Bez slamke, molim vas

….Montenegran..Montenegrino…. 

Bez plastične slamčice, molim

….Lebanese Arabic..Lebanese Arabic….

Beedoon shaleemoneh izza bit reed/ee

….Haitian Creole..Criollo haitiano….

Pas de calelumette

….Tahitan..Tahitiano….

Aita e co madu

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Lola Méndez is an Uruguayan-American freelance journalist who writes about sustainability, travel, culture, social justice, and more. Her work has been featured in CNN, Lonely Planet, InStyle, ELLE, amongst others. She's a full-time globetrotter who travels to develop her own worldview and has explored over 60 countries. Passionate about sustainable travel, she seeks out ethical experiences that benefit local communities. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter @LolaAnnaMendez and read her responsible travel blog, MissFilatelista.com.

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Lola Méndez es una periodista independiente uruguaya-estadounidense que escribe sobre sostenibilidad, viajes, cultura, justicia social y más. Su trabajo ha aparecido en CNN, Lonely Planet, InStyle, ELLE, entre otros. Es una trotamundos a tiempo completo que viaja para desarrollar su propia cosmovisión y ha explorado más de 60 países. Apasionada por los viajes sostenibles, busca experiencias éticas que beneficien a las comunidades locales. Puedes seguirla en Instagram y Twitter @LolaAnnaMendez y leer su blog de viajes responsables, MissFilatelista.com.

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