Stop Sipping to Save the Earth

When you order your favorite soft drink or milkshake, how do you drink it? If you said “With a straw,” you’re not alone. In fact, Americans use an estimated 500 million plastic straws every day. But this is about to change. Across the country, universities, food service companies, and even entire cities are banning plastic straws. Here, btw fills you in on the problem, what’s being done about it, and what you can do to join the movement for a safer earth, one sip at a time.

What’s So Bad About Plastic Straws?

They seem harmless enough, right? Actually, far from it. To start, a lot of people assume that plastic straws are recyclable, which they aren’t, because they’re too small to fit through recycle sorting machines. Second, once they make it to the oceans, plastics break into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics, which are impossible to clean up and even easier for marine animals to eat. Third, their sheer number is a huge problem: plastic straws are among the top ten items found during beach cleanups. Finally, the most convincing reason why we should get rid of them is because the way they are shaped means they are often ingested by marine wildlife. (An estimated 71 percent of seabirds and 30 percent of turtles have been found with parts of straws in their stomachs, and once an animal ingests plastic, its mortality rate is 50 percent.) Need more convincing? Watch this 2015 video of scientists trying to extract a plastic straw from the nostril of a sea turtle (Warning: it’s pretty graphic.)

Also, though getting rid of straws won’t eliminate all of the plastic found in the world’s oceans, it’s a good place to start because straws are something that most people (except for those with certain disabilities) don’t really need. That means it’s just a matter of changing peoples’ habits in a relatively minor way.

Related Link: To see the counterpoint to a complete ban on plastic straws, read this news article that explains how disabled people need to be considered in this straw usage debate.

What’s Already Being Done?

You may have noticed that some restaurants won’t automatically offer you a straw with your drink anymore: you now have to ask for it. Some universities (such as University of Portland), restaurants (most recently, Bon Appetit), and even entire cities (such as Malibu, California and Miami Beach, Florida) are banning plastic straws. A New York City councilman recently introduced legislation to ban plastic straws in all five boroughs of New York City. Unfortunately, McDonald’s and Starbucks–the two biggest drinking straw users–aren’t on board yet.

What Can I Do?

If you want to join the movement to eliminate plastic straw use, you can begin by talking to friends and relatives. Go on social media to spread the word (use the hashtag #stopsucking). Contact your school principal or local school board to suggest that they remove plastic straws from the cafeteria.

But if you just can’t imagine sipping your favorite summer drink without a straw, you’ll be glad to hear that you don’t have to. Reusable straws made of stainless steel or glass, as well as biodegradable paper straws, are cheap and readily available in stores and online.

Dig Deeper Click this link and watch the accompanying video to learn more about how you can get involved in the worldwide social media campaign to eliminate plastic straw use.