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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]. This amount of marine life, which includes fish and turtles, is sufficient to fill 125 school buses. 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. India, for example, generates 25,940 tons of plastic waste every day but collects only 60 percent of it. Well, before putting it into the laundry basket, take a look at it closely. Plastic straws are one of the most common forms of pollution found on beaches and in oceans all over the world. Companies are forced to innovate, rethinking their designs and sourcing sustainable materials. She can remember all of her vehicles the Pontiac 6000, her familys car that was passed on to her when she went to college; the Volkswagen Rabbit, and later Fox, that took her through young adulthood; the Honda Civics,, Read More Car Recycling: Everything You Need to Know (With Statistics)Continue, Whether youre a scuba diver, snorkeler, or amateur swimmer, the ocean is a playground where you come to explore the beauty of nature and the difference from your regular lifes environment. Why are Plastic Straws Bad and What are the Alernatives? When you sip beverages through a straw you end up inhaling more air into your belly than you would otherwise. We are a couple of environmentalists who seek inspiration for life in simple values based on our love for nature. NRDCs Eric Goldstein gives the scoop on the latest environmental villain and explains why plastic straws really are a big menace to our oceans. For many in the disabled community, the availability of plastic straws is essential for their well-being and survival. Reducing plastic use is the most effective means of avoiding this waste (and the impacts linked to plastic production and use). Straws make up roughly 4 percent of the plastic waste in terms of the number of pieces, but a far smaller percentage in terms of the weight.Due to the fact that the typical weight of a straw is just around one sixty-seventh of an ounce, or 42 grams, the total weight of all those billions of straws combined only accounts for roughly 2,000 tons of the almost 9 million tons of plastic debris that enters the sea each year. its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. Nows the Time. Do you wonder why? Each day, the United States of America uses 500 million drinking straws. On their long journey, they will encounter many difficulties and only a small portion of them will survive. Ideally, to be suitable for recycling, bags need to be clean to be accepted, which is often a problem, considering that we use them to carry groceries and potentially leaky goods. The majority of plastic bags are made of polyethylene, a substance that is derived from crude oil refining and natural gas processing. Straws are notorious for being readily blown away by the wind. 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 second, more fundamental imperative is to get plastics out of our waste stream. Alternatives to plastic straws, such as paper, may not always be effective for disabled people: paper can be bitten through or broken easily. 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. America Needs a Plastics Intervention. Litter can be the first stage in a waste stream that enters waterways as plastics tossed on the street are washed away by rain or travel via storm drains into rivers and streams. We hear everywhere around us that we need to save energy. 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. Required fields are marked *. To make matters worse, if plastic straws get into the ocean, they can be mistaken for food by marine animals. But a whopping 91 percent of all plastic isnt recycled at all. 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 made of paper are neither recyclable nor capable of decomposition. According to the United States National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, microplastics are so small that they move straight through water filtration, Read More What Are Microplastics and Why Are They a Concern? Killing wildlife 5. Our waterway plastic pollution is particularly concentrated: Just ten rivers carry 93 percent of the worlds total amount of plastic that enters the oceans via rivers each year. National Geographic made a video on how helpless it feels to be caught in a plastic bag. Interestingly, these granules contain the seeds of their own destruction: enzymes that break the polymer down when it is needed for food. Microplastics are plastic debris that measures less than five millimetres, or 0.2 inches, in diameter. They also arent accepted by recycling facilities because they can jam recycling machinery (due to their small size). Es gratis registrarse y presentar tus propuestas laborales. Thats nearly equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. Hi, Im Hugh, and my mission with Get Green Now is to raise awareness of environmental issues and teach people how to live sustainably. All Rights Reserved. Ill also go over whether or not plastic straw bans will actually help the environment, and explain everything else youll need to know. Avoid plastic wrap altogether by storing leftovers in reusable containers. A Ban Could Harm Local Businesses If Buy a metal or bamboo reusable straw. Policies like bottle bill lawswhich generally require retailers to add a fee on individual bottles, which can then be partially redeemed by customers when they recycleare a way to increase corporate responsibility for waste while providing a monetary incentive to recycle. [PDF] Skip The Straw - 10 Reasons Fact Sheet - Kids. You need to know what effects plastic bags have on the environment and health. Also, giving a speech in . Paper straws are horrible and should be taken out of circulation Over time, sun and heat slowly turn plastics into smaller and smaller pieces until they eventually become what are known as microplastics. But the sheer amount of plastic waste inundates communities until they are drowning under thousands of tons of plastic trash. 6461 garfield street hollywood, fl. Plastic bag litter has even caused great problems in some areas. Heres everything you need to know about the most ubiquitous (and avoidable) kind of plastic waste: the kind made to be tossed in mere minutes. McDonald's recently announced . | | But this comes along with many unanswered questions. Sugar and oils are too expensive. It may not seem like much, but when you imagine how many bags they have to provide throughout a year, you will quickly realize that plastic bags are costly. Cause of environmental pollution 2. Some countries have decided to do so after directly experiencing negative impacts of plastic bags, other countries have implemented the ban to reach their sustainability goals. These microscopic plastic fragments, no more than 5 millimeters long, are hard to detectand are just about everywhere. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. Have a look yourself to imagine the suffering of these animals. Though plastica chain of synthetic polymers, essentiallywas invented in. Put simply, single-use plastics are goods that are made primarily from fossil fuelbased chemicals (petrochemicals) and are meant to be disposed of right after useoften, in mere minutes. They are a part of our modern lives, and we dont tend to think much about them. Straws have been found stuck in a sea turtle's nose and wedged in the stomachs of dead birds and dolphins. 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. The first is to invest in better waste collection in the handful of countries that account for most of the plastic flowing into the ocean. And will a plastic straw ban actually be effective when it comes to saving our oceans and environment? Once the wheel starts spinning, it leads to even more positive changes. Since plastic bag recycling requires a specialized equipment that can break down the plastic and mold it into a new product, most municipalities do not have the budget to include their recycling in their waste management program. And recent studies found plastic in the guts of 90 percent of the seabirds tested and 100 percent of the turtles. That's a whole 900 tons of plastic waste produced every day, and that's just for plastic straws! 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. Plastic straws (like most plastic) are non-biodegradable, meaning that it cant be naturally broken down by decomposers. Individual actions can lead to collective actions. A study analyzes water transactions that leave water in the river, and shows how they could be scaled up to avert cuts for major water users while supporting imperiled ecosystems. Although, really, these tips can be used by anyone, not just kids. Unfortunately, such costs are typically not included in most economic analyses, as they are not easy to calculate because the equation would have to involve many indirect variables. How Plastic Bottles Become Death Traps for Hermit Crabs. A straw with our iced coffee, a plastic bag to carry our takeout, a wrapper on a candy bar: taken individually, each seems harmless. Participate in beach or river cleanups. If youd like to learn more about how plastic straws negatively impact the environment, you can check out this article I wrote about the environmental impact of plastic straws. Oene Moedt-Foto Natura/Minden via National Geographic Images, Major Corporations and Single-Use Plastics, secluded Pyrenees mountain range and down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and research has suggested that human exposure, 4.8 million and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic, one of the most greenhouse gasintensive industries in the manufacturing sector, could reach 1.34 gigatons per year by 2030, an audit of plastic pollution along coastlines. So, for example, companies need to not only make products that are recyclable, but actually make them out of recycled or truly biodegradable material. Yeah I end up going through like 5 paper straws because they keep disintegrating and I can't drink my drink anymore. Banning plastic straws is also increasingly popular. 10 Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned? According to some estimates, the cost of plastic bag cleanup is about 17 cents per bag [14] and the cost is paid by us once again. Overall, the main reason for a plastic straw ban is to help the environment by preventing plastic straws pollution. These dyes on their own can leach toxins, but they can also be contaminated with traces of heavy metals such as lead or cadmium, both of which affect kidney health and proper functioning of other organs. You can share this article on social media by using the share buttons below. A brief history of how plastic straws took over the world - Environment 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. Refineries where crude oil is turned into plastic make up one of the most greenhouse gasintensive industries in the manufacturing sector. 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. Plastic is putting a strain on waste management systems, our oceans, and vulnerable communities the world over. Ban of Plastic Can be Problematic. 1 producer of plastic waste in the world. Plastic straws are also the 6th most common trash item found during ocean cleanups. If it looks clean, smells clean (and sounds clean! We will By 2030, CEO James Quincey has pledged to use 50 percent recycled material in its bottles and cans and recycle one bottle or can. 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. . They're bad for the environment, kill marine life and damage human health. Then, they have a propensity to break down into microplastics, which then clutter the ecosystems in question. Some experts estimate that more than 1 million sea animals are killed each year by straws and other types of plastic trash. 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. And cracker plantswhich break, or crack, ethane molecules, a component of natural gas, into the chemical building blocks of plastic productsare energy intensive and highly polluting. Scientists have recorded some species of zooplankton eating tiny plastic particles. Starbucks recently announced that it would phase out use of plastic straws by the year 2020. While we may not pay for plastic bags directly when we go shopping, they are anything but free.. High costs for cleanup 8. We use them to drink beverages at home and we get them at almost every restaurant. They discovered that Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestl products were found most often. Your email address will not be published. For many of us it is hard to imagine that something as small as a plastic bag can actually cause flooding, but residents of some cities in Bangladesh have been struggling with this problem every monsoon season for the past two decades [3]. Straws made of plastic contribute to the pollution of our seas and streams. The process of drilling for plastics source materials, oil and gas, leads to methane leaking and flaring and is often combined with clearing forests and wetlands that otherwise would have sequestered carbon. Some tributaries of the river have been filled with plastic waste to the level that you could almost walk across them without getting your feet wet. Banning Straws and Bags Won't Solve our Plastic Problem Plastic, in general, is one of the biggest pollutants in the world. Tushy Ace Review (After 3 Months): Is this Luxury Bidet Worth it? FNB News - Choose the right straw | FNB News The first country to ban single-use plastic bags was Bangladesh in 2002 when plastic bag litter clogged drainage channels and contributed to destructive floods. The country instituted the ban in 2013 to minimize livestock deaths. 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. The following are ten lines on why plastic bags need to be prohibited: 1) The careless disposal of trash in plastic bags leads to an increase in litter.2) The use of plastic bags contributes to the depletion of our natural resources, including water, trees, and agricultural products.3) Because of the danger it causes to marine life, the total By simply using less plastic, you can help keep marine life from eating and getting entangled in garbage. (Everything You Need To Know). If we ban single-use plastic straws we will have to turn to the dangerous alternatives.In source A plastic straw ban could be a good step in the right direction, but we must use less single-use products overall to actually help the environment. Some Disabled People Require Plastic Straws to Drink For some people with disabilities, straws are the only way they.