Following Seattle, the first city that banned all single-use plastic straws and cutlery in bars and restaurants, many other institutions have begun participating in the plastic straw ban movement. Among them, Starbucks, which uses about one billion straws annually, announced their impactful step towards getting rid of plastic straws globally by 2020. They plan on replacing straws with “sippy cup” lids for regular drinks, and compostable or paper straws for frappuccinos.
Plastic straws are especially concerning because they are made of type five plastic, polypropylene, which is not accepted by curbside recycling programs. As a result, they are the 11th most common ocean trash, according to early 2018 data from Ocean Conservancy’s TIDES system. Plastic degrades into microplastics that remain in unbreakable, invisible pieces. When marine animals ingest these microplastics, they have a 50% mortality rate. Already 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles have been found with plastic in their stomachs. More than a quarter of all fish now contain plastic, according to a recent study which analyzed the guts of fish sold at markets in Indonesia and California. What’s worse, all the damage of foodsource go to humans. One kilogram of seasalt can contain over 600 microplastics, which is highly dangerous as we consume salt in most foods. The UN report, Frontiers, stated, “The presence of microplastic in foodstuffs could potentially increase direct exposure of plastic-associated chemicals to humans and may present an attributable risk to human health.” Removing plastic straws are just one inconvenience in our lives, but doing so is crucial for saving our future environment and health.
So are we on the right track in solving this problem? Critics argue that plastic straw ban activists are blindly rushing on eliminating straws instead of reasonably researching the most effective way to reduce plastic waste. Newly developed strawless lids in Starbucks actually contain about 0.32 to 0.66 grams more plastic than the current lid and straw combination. Although they are replacing the un-recyclable straws into recyclable plastic waste, it is doubtful if they will recycle properly. Moreover, banning plastic straws may also disadvantage the elderly, young, or disabled people, who are not strong enough to pull off a cup-to-lip motion.
While truly addressing the marine plastic pollution problem will require more time in researching better technological improvements on plastic replacements and waste management systems, we can still take action and make a difference now. An average person uses 1.6 straws per day, and Americans use 500 million drinking straws per day. By 2050, research predicts that there will be more plastic in the Ocean than fish. However, the majority of people are unaware of how much harm they are causing. “It’s just one straw”, after all. But what would happen if eight billion people thought that? We as individuals are the ones to bring change in our plastic habits, starting from giving up straws.
One way coffee shops are encouraging customers to do is to BYOT-”Bring your own tumbler.” You can also raise awareness by asking local eateries to not automatically serve plastic straws in beverages. The Ocean Conservancy institution website even guides you to spread their prepared letters to restaurants. So stop avoiding responsibility we all share, skip a straw, and save our future.
One way coffee shops are encouraging customers to do is to BYOT-”Bring your own tumbler.” You can also raise awareness by asking local eateries to not automatically serve plastic straws in beverages. The Ocean Conservancy institution website even guides you to spread their prepared letters to restaurants. So stop avoiding responsibility we all share, skip a straw, and save our future.