10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned
That is why the United Nations Environmental Programme Secretariat has recommended a ban on all plastic bags globally. No! Disney is eliminating single-use plastic straws and stirrers at all its theme parks, resorts and properties. But single-use plastics come with a steep environmental priceone that well be paying off for millennia. Spare Yourself the Guilt Trip This Earth DayIts Companies That Need to Clean Up Their Acts, These Fanciful Sea Creatures Were Carried in on the Tide. Natural Resources Defense Council 2023 Privacy Policy Our plastic addiction is having a devastating impact on our oceans, our wildlife, and our health. Summary: Reduce your use of single-use plastics. Additionally, a plastic straw ban could also act as a gateway into other single-use plastic bans for items like plastic bottles and plastic bags, which are worse for the environment than plastic straws. Not only is plastic estimated to kill millions of marine animals and seabirds each year, but its also contaminating seafood that humans have relied on for millennia, particularly with microplastics in animals guts. Starbucks recently announced that it would phase out use of plastic straws by the year 2020. Thus, plastic straws cant be recycled. Plastic bags floating in the ocean resemble jellyfish, one of the main sources of food for some species of sea turtles, especially the critically-endangered Leatherback turtles. The Pasig River is the eight worst source of ocean plastic pollution in the world. A study analyzes water transactions that leave water in the river, and shows how they could be scaled up to avert cuts for major water users while supporting imperiled ecosystems. Unfortunately, such costs are typically not included in most economic analyses, as they are not easy to calculate because the equation would have to involve many indirect variables. Considering what important source of food plankton is for many other species, it is clear that plastic gets distributed across the marine ecosystem. Overall, the main reason for a plastic straw ban is to help the environment by preventing plastic straws pollution. Help raise awareness of fellow consumers that means everyone when you think about it (unless they dont shopever). LEAPE:Plastic straws are only a tiny fraction of the problem less than 1 percent. If we ban single-use plastic straws we will have to turn to the dangerous alternatives.In source We are working hard to improve our content. Plastic pollutionwhether in our oceans, piling up on our coastlines, or contributing to our climate crisisimpacts vulnerable communities first. Plastics also permeate freshwater systems like rivers and streams. Manufacturers began replacing traditionally paper or glass staples with lighter or more durable and affordable plastic alternatives; plastic jugs replaced milk jars, for instance. Its possible that using a plastic straw would make it easier for you to drink without spilling, but the long-term expenses are not worth it. What do the bans accomplish? Single-use plastics are most commonly used for packaging and serviceware, such as bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags. This means that you are not consuming more resources every time you need to carry your groceries home. Instead it ends up in landfills or in the environment. LEAPE:There are two clear imperatives. Read more about us. By 2030, CEO James Quincey has pledged to use 50 percent recycled material in its bottles and cans and recycle one bottle or can. Talk to the owners of the restaurants you frequent. Plastic bags are a convenient way to carry our purchased goods when we go shopping. So, retailers incorporate this cost hiddenly into prices of other items sold at stores. In New York, 23 billion plastic bags are used by residents each year. Since plastic bag recycling requires a specialized equipment that can break down the plastic and mold it into a new product, most municipalities do not have the budget to include their recycling in their waste management program. This ban has led to an increase in the demand for sustainable plastic alternatives and has also created space for several plant-based materials in the market. The inaccuracy of this number calls into doubt the veracity of the overall case against using plastic straws as a drinking implement. In early January 2020, China joined the growing movement of more than 120 countries pledging to ban single-use plastics.The country of 1.4 billion citizens is the No. More and more states are looking to pass a new kind of recycling law that asks manufacturers to foot the bill for the waste created by their products. That's a whole 900 tons of plastic waste produced every day, and that's just for plastic straws! 12 Reasons for Banning Plastic Bags: Plastic Bags Are Made With Non-Renewable Energy Plastic Bags Use Up Lots Of Energy Plastic Bags End Up In The Ocean Beach Plastic Litter Is On The Rise Plastic Bags Kill Millions Of Animals Every Year Plastic Takes A Long Time To Disintegrate Plastic Is Harming The Ocean's Coral Plastic Bags Contain Toxins The first is to invest in better waste collection in the handful of countries that account for most of the plastic flowing into the ocean. Reducing plastic use is the most effective means of avoiding this waste (and the impacts linked to plastic production and use). Its also important to look at the bigger picture regarding plastic bans. For the oceans sake, wed better hope so. Driven by public pressure, governments and corporations are considering eliminating or phasing out single-use plastics such as straws. They prevent millions of tons of plastic from entering the waste stream each year. Each year on two far-flung Australian islands, more than half a million hermit crabs die after becoming trapped inside our plastic waste. Without proper education, few people would know the purpose of the ban, and they would continue using other single-use plastics which could be even worse for the environment. JIM LEAPE: Our oceans are currently swimming with plastics. If youd like to learn more about how plastic straws negatively impact the environment, you can check out this article I wrote about the environmental impact of plastic straws. Have some dirty clothes that you just wore today? Straws don't provide as much utility as bags, so for many this is an easy adjustment. A Ban Could Harm Local Businesses If | | These examples could go on for a long time. As for reusable straws, they arent flexible as plastic ones and can be easily forgotten at home. Ban of Plastic Can be Problematic. NRDCs Eric Goldstein gives the scoop on the latest environmental villain and explains why plastic straws really are a big menace to our oceans. According to the findings of a study that was carried out in 2019 by students at the University of Washington, 78 percent of respondents used straws made of biodegradable materials that are in compliance with the prohibition, and 68 percent used utensils that are in compliance with the ban. Although, really, these tips can be used by anyone, not just kids. Learn how your comment data is processed. Now, lets get into the negatives of a plastic straw ban: While banning plastic straws might help the environment in some aspects (well talk about this later), there are also many reasons against (or cons) of a plastic straw ban. Plastic waste, mostly broken down into tiny particles, floats in huge blobs amid ocean current patterns called gyres that together cover as much as 40 percent of Earth's ocean surface. We produce 300 million tons of plastic each year worldwide, half of which is for single-use items. CRIDDLE:Cost is a huge issue. Individual actions can lead to collective actions. It is predicted that each year 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean, with 1.152.41 tons of that plastic being carried there by major rivers all over the world. For wildlife, microplastics can be particularly dangerous; when eaten they can easily accumulate inside an animals body and cause health issues, like punctured organs or fatal intestinal blockages. A wave of single-use plastic bans is sweeping the country and the globemost often on plastic bags, straws, stirrers, and takeout clamshells. We need to make fully biodegradable polymers that are cost-competitive. Skip the Straw - Florida Department of Environmental Protection Alarmingly, scientists estimate that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight in 2050. For example, some disabled people may not be able to properly hold or pick up a cup, so they need to use straws to drink properly. About half the cost of making biodegradable polymers is the cost of feedstock. Tiny plastic particles have been found in human feces. This is the case particularly in Southeast Asia, which has begun to import much of the plastic that used to go to China for recycling. There are numerous reasons why PLA straws are not the right substitute for plastic straws . America Needs a Plastics Intervention. Tangled in trees and fences along roads, floating in water, lying on the ground in parks and forests, surrounding garbage bins, washed off on beaches. Plastic straws (like most plastic) are non-biodegradable, meaning that it cant be naturally broken down by decomposers. If this happens, there are a few scenarios you can follow: The best thing you can do with those old plastic bags that have been stashed in that overflowing drawer in your kitchen is to recycle them. For example, millions of discarded plastic bags clog water drainage channels and sewers in urban areas of Bangladesh. Activists Say Straws Should Be Banned Because They Are a 'Gateway Plastic' Advocates hope a straw ban will be the first step toward broader plastic prohibitions. Ideally, to be suitable for recycling, bags need to be clean to be accepted, which is often a problem, considering that we use them to carry groceries and potentially leaky goods. Facebook; Contact Now . There is a lot of research now underway on the health effects of ocean plastics, but we already know that some plastics, and the chemicals that attach themselves to plastics in the water, can cause cancer, genetic disruptions and other ill effects. A plastic straw ban could be a good step in the right direction, but we must use less single-use products overall to actually help the environment. The people of Macon, Georgia, saw through it. This blog covers a variety of topics including plastic pollution, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and much more. Why? And they help shift consumer mind-sets, as people begin to recognize that exorbitant and avoidable waste is not sustainable. Yes, it should. They're bad for the environment, kill marine life and damage human health. Stanford Reportspoke withJim Leape, co-director of theStanford Center for Ocean Solutions, andCraig Criddle, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, about the path to reducing ocean plastic pollution. She can remember all of her vehicles the Pontiac 6000, her familys car that was passed on to her when she went to college; the Volkswagen Rabbit, and later Fox, that took her through young adulthood; the Honda Civics,, Read More Car Recycling: Everything You Need to Know (With Statistics)Continue, Whether youre a scuba diver, snorkeler, or amateur swimmer, the ocean is a playground where you come to explore the beauty of nature and the difference from your regular lifes environment. As a result, the ban will reduce the number of plastic straws polluting the ocean. Plastic straws are everywhere we look. Our reliance on these plastics means we are accumulating waste at a staggering rate. Some opposers of the plastic straw ban say that a ban is unlikely to actually help the environment, as plastic straws do not make up a large percentage of plastic in the ocean. Sadly, one of their newly acquired enemies is created by us who should protect them instead. We dont know how it will in the long term affect plankton-feeding species and their predators. . Ask if they have nonplastic alternatives to plastic straws, stirrers, or bags. We all are just trying to do our job well. Plastic utensils are convenient and straws are fun for kids, but much of that plastic eventually winds up in a landfill or as litter.
