In Taiwan, which was once overflowing with so much trash that it spurred public protest and the nickname Garbage Island, companies now either manage their own waste or subsidize government-run infrastructure. 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned Plastic bags. The answer isnt as simple as you may think: While its true that paper straws arent as harmful as plastic straws, this doesnt mean that, Read More Paper vs. Most retailers will get your point, but it can also happen that they will not be willing to sell you some products without placing it in their plastic bags because of having to oblige with some hygiene and sanitary standards (for example when selling meat products). Without further due, here are the top 3 ways kids can help, Read More 3 Ways Kids can Help the EarthContinue, What Are Microplastics? Or you may need to accept that plastic bag this time and then start campaigning for a plastic bag ban in your area . 10 Reasons Why Plastic Bags Should Be Banned | IUCN Water Beyond the costs associated with the production and purchasing of plastic bags by retailers, there are many external costs that are often not considered. Have some dirty clothes that you just wore today? Ms. LISA PAI . When animals ingest plastic, it clogs up their digestive systems, which can easily choke or kill animals like birds or sea turtles. Affiliate Disclaimer: Some links on this site may be referral or affiliate links. What Is Plastic Made Of And How Is It Manufactured? This leaves few other alternatives other than plastic straws. Plastic straws are not the first iteration of straws. Problematic degradation 4. 2023 Get Green Now. The most heartbreaking part of this is that the affected animals are not aware they eat something that will make them feel miserable and will slowly kill them. According to a 2017 study, more than half of non-fiber plastic, which excludes synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon, comes from plastic packaging alone, much of which is for single-use items. Though plastica chain of synthetic polymers, essentiallywas invented in. All you need to do is paste your ZIP code and then see the list of stores with bag drop-off in your nearest location. Which brings us to the second part. Our reliance on these plastics means we are accumulating waste at a staggering rate. In Germany alone, we use 40 billion plastic straws every year. No! Buy in bulk. Activists Say Straws Should Be Banned Because They Are a 'Gateway Plastic' Heres everything you need to know before plastic carryout bags disappear from the Empire State on March 1. Plastic, in general, is one of the biggest pollutants in the world. For the oceans sake, wed better hope so. Straws made of paper are neither recyclable nor capable of decomposition. They store these polymers inside their cells as tiny granules. 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. 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. Juan Cristobal Cobo/Bloomberg via Getty Images. They contribute to the contamination of our landfills and seas when they are discarded after use. The problem with plastic straws is that they are one of the biggest causes of unnecessary plastic pollution. And when it comes to waste that lasts forever, every ton counts. This could negatively reflect on their income. 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. 4. In 2015 a mere 24 of these ethane cracker facilities in the United States had the combined carbon output of 3.8 million passenger vehicles. NDLA National Disability Leadership Alliance: Nothing About Us Without Us. One recent survey found plastics in 94 percent of tap water samples in the U.S. and in nearly every brand of bottled water. Straws are notorious for being readily blown away by the wind. Growing public concern has inspired movements to ban single-use plastics, most notably straws. Talk to the owners of the restaurants you frequent. If the answer is yes, you should know that this inadvertent overconsumption of single-use plastic carries with it a very high cost to the environment, which in turn also negatively affects our health. It is estimated that there are now 150 million metric tons of plastic in the ocean. In this article, Ill go over both the pros and cons of a plastic straw ban. Look around and you will notice that plastic bags are the most common litter. An Oregon community is making spectacular statues out of ocean plastic to raise awareness about a crisis at sea. This means that you need to first educate yourself about the problem. Overall, the goal of a plastic straw ban should be to increase public awareness for single-use plastics and their nasty effects on the environment. In Ireland, where this fee was instituted in 2002, plastic bag usage decreased by about 90 percent. According to the researchers, the turtle likely mistook the straw for food and swallowed it. That's a whole 900 tons of plastic waste produced every day, and that's just for plastic straws! McDonald's recently announced . For example, in Botswana, the consumption of plastic bags dropped by 50 percent after the introduction of the tax in 2007. A wave of single-use plastic bans is sweeping the country and the globemost often on plastic bags, straws, stirrers, and takeout clamshells. Leape has long been a leader in ocean conservation efforts. Such changes could have outsized benefits for vulnerable populations that rely on rivers for their water supply. Have you ever seen endangered sea turtles hatch? On average, taxpayers end up paying about $88 per year just on plastic bag waste [15]. 1 producer of plastic waste in the world. Sadly, one of their newly acquired enemies is created by us who should protect them instead. 10 Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned - manufacturer, factory You probably already saw the video, but if you didnt, you can watch it below (WARNING: Graphic Content): Supporters of plastic straw bans claim that the ban will help reduce our use of single-use plastics. Do you also have that overflowing kitchen drawer full of plastic bags you bring from your shopping trips? Making just one simple swap, like purchasing a reusable water bottle, can spare the environment hundreds of plastic bottles each year. Plastic use costs approximately $75 billion a year [16]. On average, plastic bags cost retailers about 3-5 cents each. At the beginning of July 2018, Seattle became the largest U.S. city to ban plastic straws. Although single-use plastic pollution accumulates most visibly on our streets, in fact our water suffers even more. 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 most common are inorganic dyes that are added to change the color of plastic bags. Here are a few more tips for ridding your life (and your community) of single-use plastics for good. 10 Reasons Why Plastic Bags Should Be Banned | Greentumble Then, you should try to explain your reasons for not wanting your products packed in plastic bags. 2. Skip the Straw - Florida Department of Environmental Protection If you are a kid reading this, and you want to get green and help the Earth, you are at the right place. Buy a metal or bamboo reusable straw. 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. Such is the case with many environmental crises: the worst effects are pushed onto overburdened communities with the fewest resources to fight back. 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. Although, really, these tips can be used by anyone, not just kids. Plastic bag bansideally accompanied by a fee on paper bagsare also catching on. The country instituted the ban in 2013 to minimize livestock deaths. Why Are Plastic Straws Bad for the Environment & Should Be Banned How To Make A Bracelet Out Of Plastic String? Since their birth, baby turtles have only one goal to get to the sea and swim into deep waters where they will feed and if successful grow into adult turtles. They also arent accepted by recycling facilities because they can jam recycling machinery (due to their small size). However, as an environmental enthusiast, heres what I think about this ban. Plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds will no longer be sold in Britain as part of a plan to eradicate "avoidable plastic waste" by 2042, and Prime Minister Theresa May actively called on other leaders in the Commonwealth to implement similar policies. 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. (Photo credit: Shutterstock). Using a straw directs a concentrated stream of liquid onto a localized area of the teeth, which can cause the enamel to wear away and lead to dental disease. Killing wildlife 5. (Source: Water in the West), Analysis reveals how restoring relatively narrow forest buffers could substantially improve regional water quality and carbon storage in Costa Rica and elsewhere. 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.) In the United States alone, statistics reach up to 12 million barrels of oil that are used each year to produce even more plastic bags 100 billion more, to give you the precise number [5]. 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). New and sustainable business models are needed to address the current plastic deluge and also to enable a new generation of sustainable materials and technologies. Plastic is not the largest contributor of pollution and the . In fact, I just listed many reasons and points in this article that support both sides of the argument. Plastic is more sanitary and safer to use than other alternatives. FNB News - Choose the right straw | FNB News By 2030, CEO James Quincey has pledged to use 50 percent recycled material in its bottles and cans and recycle one bottle or can. Car Recycling: Everything You Need to Know (With Statistics), Sustainable Diving & Snorkeling: How to Prevent Damage to Marine Ecosystems, What Are Microplastics and Why Are They a Concern? Companies are trying to sell communities on a toxic solution to the plastic pollution crisis. keep you informed with the latest alerts and progress reports. Oil and natural gas are non-renewable fossil fuel-based resources and through their extraction and production, they emit greenhouse gases, which contribute to global climate change. Manufacturers began replacing traditionally paper or glass staples with lighter or more durable and affordable plastic alternatives; plastic jugs replaced milk jars, for instance. We need to make fully biodegradable polymers that are cost-competitive. After all, ask your grandparents, they will remember that during their time people were used to go shopping with their own bags or baskets. Recycling more plastic, more frequently, reduces its footprint. 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. [PDF] Skip The Straw - 10 Reasons Fact Sheet - Kids. There are numerous reasons why PLA straws are not the right substitute for plastic straws . Individual choicesand the collective shifts they bring aboutadd up quickly. Globally, 8 to 10 percent of our current oil supply goes to a plastic bag manufacture [4]. They prevent millions of tons of plastic from entering the waste stream each year. Your email address will not be published. As a result, they are thrown away and frequently wind up in the ocean, where they pollute the water and eventually kill marine birds, animals, and fish. Harmful to human health 6. So, plastic waste only speeds up the destruction of these most biodiverse ecosystems on earth. Additionally, someone has to pay the cost of dealing with plastic bags in the waste stream. Plastic straws are one of the most common forms of pollution found on beaches and in oceans all over the world. (Everything You Need To Know)Continue, Many restaurants have banned plastic straws due to their harmful effects on the environment, and have switched to paper alternatives instead.
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