Rating: 5 (913 reviews) Highest rating: 5. Buying a product through my link comes at no extra cost to you, and I only recommend products that I believe in. Alternatives to plastic straws, such as paper, may not always be effective for disabled people: paper can be bitten through or broken easily. Interestingly, these granules contain the seeds of their own destruction: enzymes that break the polymer down when it is needed for food. 300 to 700 plastic bags pass through the hands of an average American in just one year [8] and a survey of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs concluded that the average household in the United Kingdom stores around 40 plastic shopping bags at home [2]. As part of the Break Free From Plastic movement, Greenpeace volunteers conducted an audit of plastic pollution along coastlines, sifting through tens of thousands of individual pieces across 42 countries to identify the pollutions sources. Help raise awareness of fellow consumers that means everyone when you think about it (unless they dont shopever). This way, disabled people can continue to be served, while also reducing the number of plastic straws that we use. Plastic bags are a convenient way to carry our purchased goods when we go shopping. When the monsoon rains start, streets get waterlogged just after the first few minutes because the water cannot pass through clogged sewerage pipes. This includes grocery plastic bags, Ziplock-type bags, dry cleaning bags and bread bags. Reducing plastic use is the most effective means of avoiding this waste (and the impacts linked to plastic production and use). Single-use plastics in particularespecially small items like straws, bags, and cutleryare traditionally hard to recycle because they fall into the crevices of recycling machinery and therefore are often not accepted by recycling centers. 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. Using these non-renewable resources to make plastic bags is very short-sighted, considering that the typical useful life of each plastic bag is about 12 minutes and that the worlds oil reserves contain enough oil to cover our needs through 2050, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates. It started with cardboard straws, but once plastic production in America increased, people realized it was quicker and cheaper to produce plastic straws. According to a study that was published by Bloomberg News, it is predicted that the percentage of contaminated ocean water that is caused by plastic straws and stirrers is a shockingly modest 0.03 percent. (Photo credit: Shutterstock). Do you wonder why? For many in the disabled community, the availability of plastic straws is essential for their well-being and survival. Do you also have that overflowing kitchen drawer full of plastic bags you bring from your shopping trips? Better alternatives are available 10. Making just one simple swap, like purchasing a reusable water bottle, can spare the environment hundreds of plastic bottles each year. Scientists are showing that we are sending tons of tiny plastic particles into our soils each year, potentially affecting crops and our health. In fact, plastic straws only make up around 0.03 percent of total plastic waste by mass. We should do likewise. By comparison, an estimated 46 percent of all pollution in the ocean is made up of lost or abandoned fishing gear (Vox). We all know what the debate is between plastic and paper straws but paper straws are horrible they will immediately break apart in your mouth and feel horrible. PLASTIC STRAWS CANT BE BROKEN DOWN BY NATURE. On average, plastic bags cost retailers about 3-5 cents each. If it looks clean, smells clean (and sounds clean! On their long journey, they will encounter many difficulties and only a small portion of them will survive. In addition, despite the fact that the FDA has deemed this to be safe for consumption, chemicals from the plastic may seep into liquids, releasing substances that have the potential to influence estrogen levels. You cannot recycle them in the regular curbside collection of plastic, but you should be able to find many larger food stores and retailers (for example: Target, Walmart, Tesco, Morrisons, etc.) Then, the straw got stuck in the turtles nose after she/he tried to cough the straw back out. 6461 garfield street hollywood, fl. But, are paper straws really better for the environment? Its also important to look at the bigger picture regarding plastic bans. At the beginning of July 2018, Seattle became the largest U.S. city to ban plastic straws. Criddle has evaluated use of microorganisms to biodegrade plastic materials and to synthesize biodegradable bioplastics from waste feedstocks. You need to know what effects plastic bags have on the environment and health. Made from fossil fuels 3. Divers, for example, descend 130 feet under the water, seek unique-looking creatures, and observe the marine world in all its glory. Avoid individually packaged goods, like snack packs. It is estimated that there are now 150 million metric tons of plastic in the ocean. Look around and you will notice that plastic bags are the most common litter. Sea turtles are not the only species suffering from plastic bag pollution of the environment. The majority of plastic bags are made of polyethylene, a substance that is derived from crude oil refining and natural gas processing. Accompanied by high social accountability and musical garbage trucks, that strategy has proved wildly effective: the island now reports recycling rates above 50 percent. Communities and consumers can play vital roles in sparking action. It topped 60 million tons (54.4 million metric tons) in 2010 based on a September 2018 report titled "Plastic Pollution."But China announced it plans to outlaw the production and sale of . Cook more often, to reduce your use of plastic-heavy takeout containers. 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. In this article, Ill go over both the pros and cons of a plastic straw ban. Growing public concern has inspired movements to ban single-use plastics, most notably straws. But these cases make up a small fraction of single-use plastic. The crucial challenge is to ensure that these bans are just a first step, offering a natural place to start with low-hanging fruit so long as its part of a much more fundamental shift away from single-use plastics across the value chains of these companies and our economy. Plastic pollution is one of the biggest problems facing our world today. 2023 Get Green Now. When you sip beverages through a straw you end up inhaling more air into your belly than you would otherwise. Greentumble is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Plastic straws are not the first iteration of straws. How exactly does the use of plastic do harm to the environment?Plastic has a very long half-life in the environment, during which it poses a danger to animals and spreads toxic chemicals.Additionally, plastic is a contributor to the warming of the planet.Nearly every type of plastic is manufactured using chemicals that are leftover from the manufacturing of fossil fuels, which contribute to global warming (gas, oil and even coal). Straws made of paper are neither recyclable nor capable of decomposition. You should examine what alternatives are available and whether local retailers, who often operate with a limited monthly budget, have the ability to make the switch. Our reliance on these plastics means we are accumulating waste at a staggering rate. Lizzie Carr is shining a light on what is floating through the worlds waterways, and breaking athletic records along the way. 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. To align with global efforts, India banned single-use plastic items from July 1, 2022. An additional problem with plastic grocery bags recycling is their cleanliness. These tiny plastic particles have been found in our oceans, soil, and even in the air. Some Disabled People Require Plastic Straws to Drink For some people with disabilities, straws are the only way they. A straw with our iced coffee, a plastic bag to carry our takeout, a wrapper on a candy bar: taken individually, each seems harmless. Speak out in support of local plastic bans, whether by calling your local government representative, submitting an op-ed to your citys newspaper, or simply starting conversations with neighbors. Well, a possible alternative solution could be to encourage businesses to only give out plastic straws on request. For example, a reusable jute bag should last at least 4 years, during which it can prevent the use of 600 single-use plastic bags. | | Thoughtful laws are needed to control the problem and at the same time encourage innovation. That's a whole 900 tons of plastic waste produced every day, and that's just for plastic straws! Overall, the main reason for a plastic straw ban is to help the environment by preventing plastic straws pollution. This means that you are not consuming more resources every time you need to carry your groceries home. Considering what important source of food plankton is for many other species, it is clear that plastic gets distributed across the marine ecosystem. 1. plastic straws litter our environment Every day, about 3-6 billion plastic straws are produced. (Its also important to remember that waste management is just one part of the global materials cycle. Facebook; Contact Now . In Germany alone, we use 40 billion plastic straws every year. 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 Earths ocean surface. Start from yourself and slowly expand to your family and friends. 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned. These modern conveniences are so ubiquitousand so quickly thrown outthat they hardly register in our minds. BY Rob Jordan, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, As Colorado River wanes, water supplies and ecosystems hang in the balance, Riverfront forest restoration can deliver outsized benefits, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, An AI solution to climate models gravity wave problem, Beavers will become a bigger boon to river water quality as U.S. West warms. The phthalate DEHP, as just one example from dozens, is often added to plastic goods like shower curtains and garden hoses to make them more flexiblebut was also found to be a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And they help shift consumer mind-sets, as people begin to recognize that exorbitant and avoidable waste is not sustainable. 2015-2023 Greentumble. This measure should encourage people to switch to reusable alternatives. . Additionally, awareness raising campaigns create a social pressure that should inspire local government and institutions to help in making changes at a bigger scale, like a regional ban or levy. We dont know how it will in the long term affect plankton-feeding species and their predators. They prevent millions of tons of plastic from entering the waste stream each year. There are many uses for plastic that are not only reasonable but important, such as surgical gloves, or straws for people with disabilities. Banning plastic straws is also increasingly popular. 1. What do the bans accomplish? Similar fate has met dolphins, seals, cats, dogs, deer and many other animals which got severely cut on their bodies due to plastic bag entanglement. ), then its clean! 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. Since the 1950s, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics have been produced, and half of that in the past 15 years alone. One of the most significant negative effects that plastic bags have on the natural world is that it takes a very long time for them to degrade.In addition, the breakdown of plastic bags in the sun results in the release of hazardous compounds into the surrounding soil, and the combustion of plastic bags results in the release of a poisonous material into the surrounding air, contributing to the problem of ambient air pollution. For those governments that are opposed to full bans on plastic bags, another option is to institute a plastic bag tax, where consumers or retailers would pay a small fee for each plastic bag. Forty years after the launch of the first universal recycling symbol, only 14 percent of plastic packaging is recycled. On average, taxpayers end up paying about $88 per year just on plastic bag waste [15]. A recent report showed that plastic production contributes to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions at every point in its life cycle. Each year on two far-flung Australian islands, more than half a million hermit crabs die after becoming trapped inside our plastic waste. For most, straws are not a necessity, but a convenience. Companies are forced to innovate, rethinking their designs and sourcing sustainable materials. NDLA National Disability Leadership Alliance: Nothing About Us Without Us. Let companies that make your favorite products know that you care about the packaging. Some microplastics are even small by design, like the microbeads used in facial scrubs or the microfibers in polyester clothing. A complete ban on plastic straws would harm disabled people, which definitely isnt the goal of such a ban. This leaves few other alternatives other than plastic straws. Individual choicesand the collective shifts they bring aboutadd up quickly. Plastic bags are often mistaken for food by animals, birds, and marine life. Hi, Im Hugh, and my mission with Get Green Now is to raise awareness of environmental issues and teach people how to live sustainably. On other issues, from overfishing to deforestation, we have seen that consumer-facing companies like McDonalds, Unilever and Walmart can be exquisitely sensitive to the concerns of their customers. However, we are all too familiar with situations when a cashier automatically puts your items in a plastic bag before you can oppose it. As a result, the actual recycling rate for plastic bags globally is between 5 to 15 percent, while in the United States it makes only 1 percent a year [17]. As it turns out, many microorganisms make moldable bioplastic polymers that are fully degradable. Read more about us. An Oregon community is making spectacular statues out of ocean plastic to raise awareness about a crisis at sea. Instead it ends up in landfills or in the environment. It's free to sign up and bid on jobs. Plastic straws, being so lightweight and non-biodegradable, are readily carried into the water, where they eventually break down into smaller and smaller pieces of microplastic. Ill talk about this more in the next section: By itself, a plastic straw ban is unlikely to have a large impact on the environment. For example, in Botswana, the consumption of plastic bags dropped by 50 percent after the introduction of the tax in 2007. We should just stick to plastic. The Natural Resources Defense Council works to safeguard the earth - its people, Straws have been found stuck in a sea turtle's nose and wedged in the stomachs of dead birds and dolphins. Will Shifting to Reusable Straws Really Make a Difference? Tiny plastic particles have been found in human feces. The explanation is quite simple. Is the Tide Turning on Our Plastic Addiction? If you are constantly feeling gassy, then you should definitely consider drinking beverages the old fashioned way. its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. Microplastics are plastic debris that measures less than five millimetres, or 0.2 inches, in diameter. Additionally, someone has to pay the cost of dealing with plastic bags in the waste stream. . Paper straws cost on average around 2.5 cents ($0.025), whereas plastic straws cost only half a cent ($0.005). Plastic use costs approximately $75 billion a year [16]. They suspect that it may add stress on the liver by introducing more pathogens into the body. (Some places are going so far as to ban single-use plastics entirely; most notably, India intends to go this route by 2022.) The problem with plastic straws is that they are one of the biggest causes of unnecessary plastic pollution. Which brings us to the second part. If plastic straws are completely banned, local small businesses like boba tea shops will have to look for pricier alternatives. Sugar and oils are too expensive. By being aware about these issues, you will be ready to present some strong arguments why plastic bags should be banned in your area and answer questions of people who will become your ally if you will persuade them about your good intentions.
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