Our Problem:
It is a well known fact that plastic straws have a negative impact on our environment, but just how much and why is a less known fact. One of the many problems with plastic straws is that they take such a long time to biodegrade, and they are only used once. Therefore, plastic straws are accumulating in great numbers on land, and sea, they are not going away, and are killing animals and destroying habitats all around the world.
One-use plastic is straight out bad for the environment and the creatures who live in it (including us humans). One of the big contributors is plastic straws. They are so so small that they fall through the recycle sorter and once it is in the landfill it’s so light that it just plows off the landfill onto the ocean. This is where they do the most harm. Once, in the ocean the straw releases Microplastics that infect everything animal it touches. It is estimated that a quarter of our seafood and all our table salt is polluted with these Microplastics. But it is not only one straw.
|
The United States produces enough straws to circle the earth 2 and a half times. It’s said that every year we put 8-11 million tons of trash into the ocean, which is equivalent to having it a dump truck full of plastic empty it into the ocean every minute. We have put 9.1 billion metric tons of plastic into the ocean in 2018 since the creation of plastic. That is five grocery bags full of plastic for every foot of shoreline on This earth.
|
There are many solutions to Plastic straws but each has their own flaws. There are: Bamboo straws, Straw straws, Steel straws, Glass straws, and the most famous Paper straws. Paper Straws are made out of paper, which are made out of trees, which right now are a huge problem. We are cutting trees down left and right. According to national Geographic, since 1990 we have cut down 502,000 square miles of forest. That’s larger than South Africa. There are reusable straws like Metal straws, Glass straws, and Bamboo Straws. But most people don't. to reuse their straws. All in all, although paper straws are better than Plastic straws, they are still damaging the environment.
|