The small pilot whale, found in a Thai canal this past June, is another symptom of a crisis in the worlds oceans. Many of you may have heard it already. CRIDDLE:We need to think about what incentives will promote a culture of recycling and innovation with respect to waste streams. Here are 3 reasons why plastic straws should not be banned, explained in a simple and easy-to-understand manner: For some people with disabilities, straws are the only way they can drink. Beached whales have been found with stomachs full of plastic trash. It's free to sign up and bid on jobs. Your email address will not be published. 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned. Paper straws cannot be recycled in any way. McDonald's recently announced . keep you informed with the latest alerts and progress reports. After all, ask your grandparents, they will remember that during their time people were used to go shopping with their own bags or baskets. 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. For wildlife, microplastics can be particularly dangerous; when eaten they can easily accumulate inside an animals body and cause health issues, like punctured organs or fatal intestinal blockages. At the beginning of July 2018, Seattle became the largest U.S. city to ban plastic straws. Plastic straws are everywhere we look. (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. No! One of the most significant negative effects that plastic bags have on the natural world is that it takes a very long time for them to degrade.In addition, the breakdown of plastic bags in the sun results in the release of hazardous compounds into the surrounding soil, and the combustion of plastic bags results in the release of a poisonous material into the surrounding air, contributing to the problem of ambient air pollution. 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. TOP 10 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned BEST and NEWEST 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. 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. We should do likewise. These tiny plastic particles have been found in our oceans, soil, and even in the air. Low rated: 2. | | In this article, Ill go over both the pros and cons of a plastic straw ban. Prior the ban, 70 percent of livestock losses were attributed to plastic bag ingestion. Single-use plastics are a glaring example of the problems with throwaway culture. There is a lot of research now underway on the health effects of ocean plastics, but we already know that some plastics, and the chemicals that attach themselves to plastics in the water, can cause cancer, genetic disruptions and other ill effects. According to estimates made by scientists, there are 7.5 million polluting straws around the shores of the United States, and anywhere from 437 million to 8.3 billion plastic straws throughout the coastlines of the rest of the globe. 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. For example, a reusable jute bag should last at least 4 years, during which it can prevent the use of 600 single-use 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. 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. 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. Plastic straws are also the 6th most common trash item found during ocean cleanups. Avoid plastic wrap altogether by storing leftovers in reusable containers. Don't Ban Straws - Reason.com Although, really, these tips can be used by anyone, not just kids. Our reliance on these plastics means we are accumulating waste at a staggering rate. Should Plastic Straws Be Banned? | Persuasive Writing | Scholastic According to the researchers, the turtle likely mistook the straw for food and swallowed it. India, for example, generates 25,940 tons of plastic waste every day but collects only 60 percent of it. As a result, the ban will reduce the number of plastic straws polluting the ocean. These actions are a response to calls for change and shifting consumer habits. What Is Plastic Made Of And How Is It Manufactured? When you sign up you'll become a member of NRDC's Activist Network. Nows the Time. There are numerous reasons why PLA straws are not the right substitute for plastic straws . Buying a product through my link comes at no extra cost to you, and I only recommend products that I believe in. You could either discuss with a store manager a possibility of bringing your own containers for these products. However, one thing we know, is that by introducing a pollutant that may never break down in the environment can have implications that will far exceed any of our predictions. Plastic straws have an especially high propensity to end up in our rivers after being thrown away. That's a whole 900 tons of plastic waste produced every day, and that's just for plastic straws! China doesnt want our plastic waste anymore. Affiliate Disclaimer: Some links on this site may be referral or affiliate links. Hi, Im Hugh, and my mission with Get Green Now is to raise awareness of environmental issues and teach people how to live sustainably. As communities act to ban single-use plastics and individual consumers raise concerns, bigger actors pay attention. Author: floridadep.gov. The crucial challenge is to ensure that these bans are just a first step. Plastics also permeate freshwater systems like rivers and streams. However, in 2014, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) supported the first project to calculate the real cost of plastic, including adverse environmental impacts of its production, use and disposal. This means that the average consumption of plastic bags per person dropped from 328 bags per year to just 21 [20]. The single biggest reason why people want to ban plastic straws is because of their negative effects on the environment. For most, straws are not a necessity, but a convenience. For example, some disabled people may not be able to properly hold or pick up a cup, so they need to use straws to drink properly. The country instituted the ban in 2013 to minimize livestock deaths. McDonalds swapped its plastic straws for paper at its United Kingdom and Ireland restaurants. And, if you dont like wearing the same shirt or pants, Read More Dont wash it if it doesnt look dirtyContinue, At age 50, Kay is a little over halfway through her life as a driver. 10 Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned - manufacturer, factory Its because Asian and US coastlines release large amounts of plastic waste in the ocean [7]. 10 reasons why plastic straws should not be banned 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. We can also decrease costs through improved bioprocessing methods, through metabolic engineering and by exploring and harnessing the incredible diversity of bioplastic-making systems that evolution has already created. Instead it ends up in landfills or in the environment. Logically, the key to starting a change in your community is education. Due to its chemistry, nothing in nature can make plastic biodegrade. You'll receive your first NRDC action alert and If environmental zealots and sycophants get their way, you won't be allowed to sip it through a plastic straw. NDLA National Disability Leadership Alliance: Nothing About Us Without Us. Plastics bags are not so much necessary that man cannot live without it. 10 Reasons You Should Give Up Plastic Straws - sustainablemotown Participate in beach or river cleanups. Here's a quick list of the ways plastic straws may be harming your health: 1. The majority of plastic bags are made of polyethylene, a substance that is derived from crude oil refining and natural gas processing. They are a part of our modern lives, and we dont tend to think much about them. 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. Pack it alongside reusable cutlery (like wood, bamboo, or metal chopsticks) for sustainable eating on the go. 1. They discovered that Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestl products were found most often. Communities with good awareness about negative impacts of plastic bags have been more successful at enforcing the ban [20]. If you are a kid reading this, and you want to get green and help the Earth, you are at the right place. that do collect plastic bags and other plastic films and send them for proper recycling. 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. Plastic waste that clogs water drainage channels and river tributaries of many Asian cities increases exposure of residents to water-borne diseases, as it creates a toxic soup that remains stranded in one place for prolonged periods of time. A brief history of how plastic straws took over the world - Environment You can be sure of one thing, though. This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as time and place elements, style, and grammar); you cant resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you cant republish our material wholesale or automaticallyyou need to select stories individually; you can't republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when youve used one of our stories. The risk is that banning straws may confer moral license allowing companies and their customers to feel they have done their part. Coca-Cola makes an estimated 110 billion plastic bottles a year. As it turns out, many microorganisms make moldable bioplastic polymers that are fully degradable. 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. 13.07.2022 Harry Brown THE TOP 10 REASONS TO DO NOT USE THE STRAW O This requires the usage of 500 million straws Straws and other items made of plastic are harmful Every day in the United States. Left alone, plastics dont really break down; they just break up. Post date: 18 yesterday. Most drop-off collection points accept plastic bags made from high-density polyethylene (plastic number 2) and low-density polyethylene (plastic number 4). (Its also important to remember that waste management is just one part of the global materials cycle. Please share this message with your friends so that together, we can tackle our global plastic problem. Some Disabled People Require Plastic Straws to Drink For some people with disabilities, straws are the only way they can drink. Ban of Plastic Can be Problematic. [PDF] Skip The Straw - 10 Reasons Fact Sheet - Kids. Search for jobs related to Reasons why smoking should be banned articles or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 22m+ jobs. InCalifornia, a bill to ban straws unless requested at dine-in restaurants is awaiting a signature from the governor. Accompanied by high social accountability and musical garbage trucks, that strategy has proved wildly effective: the island now reports recycling rates above 50 percent. The resulting number is staggering. Learn how your comment data is processed. Plastic bags have become such a nuisance because we as consumers use them excessively even when not needed and authorities havent figured out effective ways of dealing with them as waste. Natural Resources Defense Council 2023 Privacy Policy Most plastic straws are made from harsh chemicals making them impossible to reuse or recycle. Well, before putting it into the laundry basket, take a look at it closely. 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.) By comparison, an estimated 46 percent of all pollution in the ocean is made up of lost or abandoned fishing gear (Vox). Beyond the costs associated with the production and purchasing of plastic bags by retailers, there are many external costs that are often not considered. We produce 300 million tons of plastic each year worldwide, half of which is for single-use items. Instead, you are actually reusing a product, and that means that you are utilizing earths resources smartly, while at the same time reducing waste. And recent studies found plastic in the guts of 90 percent of the seabirds tested and 100 percent of the turtles. Gas, bloating, and intestinal discomfort. Animals can also easily become entangled in this plastic waste. 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. 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. Then, you should try to explain your reasons for not wanting your products packed in plastic bags. Greentumble was founded in the summer of 2015 by us, Sara and Ovi. Companies are forced to innovate, rethinking their designs and sourcing sustainable materials. The people of Macon, Georgia, saw through it. They end up in the water, eaten by wildlife, and inside our bodies. Therefore, a plastic straw ban by itself is unlikely to be very effective in actually helping the environment, although it could act as a gateway into the reduction of other single-use plastics. Plastic fragments in the ocean such as those from plastic bags can absorb pollutants like PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) easily. The majority of this pollutiondominated by single-use plastic wastecomes from countries lacking infrastructure to properly manage waste, particularly in Asia. Cook more often, to reduce your use of plastic-heavy takeout containers. Once a paper product has been contaminated with food or drink, it must be disposed of in a landfill. They are tinier than a palm of your hand and appear so fragile when struggling across the beach to make it to the sea. The cashier usually understands, only had to do what instructed and what most customers expect (unfortunately) from him or her. Tiny plastic particles have been found in human feces. Marine animals bear the burden of this influx of garbage into their habitats. 2. What about you? Among the U.S. cities to outlaw plastic straws are Malibu, Berkeley, Seattle, and Miami Beach. Here are a few more tips for ridding your life (and your community) of single-use plastics for good. These examples could go on for a long time. This leaves few other alternatives other than plastic straws. Without further due, here are the top 3 ways kids can help, Read More 3 Ways Kids can Help the EarthContinue, What Are Microplastics? To align with global efforts, India banned single-use plastic items from July 1, 2022. As part of the Break Free From Plastic movement, Greenpeace volunteers conducted an audit of plastic pollution along coastlines, sifting through tens of thousands of individual pieces across 42 countries to identify the pollutions sources. Such is the case with many environmental crises: the worst effects are pushed onto overburdened communities with the fewest resources to fight back. Once in the ocean, plastic pollution is extremely dangerous to marine life, and plastic straws are no exception. The decrease in demand for plastic bags forces manufacturers to reduce their production and consider expanding in a supply of alternative products. Not only does the waste destroy the land itself, but when plastic is incinerated (as is the case for unrecyclable plastic at some illegal facilities) its toxic fumes quickly become a health hazard for residents, leading to everything from skin rashes to cancer. Most of it is either dumped in landfills or ends up in the ocean. About; Disability Vote Blog; Organizer's Forum; Issues; News; NDLA Webinars In fact, plastic bags are considered by many recycling facilities the number one contaminant and their removal from the recycling stream costs municipalities close to $1 million a year [18]. 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. A wave of single-use plastic bans is sweeping the country and the globemost often on plastic bags, straws, stirrers, and takeout clamshells. Straws are said to be one of the top 10 objects recovered during beach clean-ups by the Ocean Conservancy. . Additionally, someone has to pay the cost of dealing with plastic bags in the waste stream. You can share this article on social media by using the share buttons below. Should Plastic be Banned Essay for Students in English - VEDANTU 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. by TFK Kid Reporter Maria Suarez, 10 Bellaire, Texas Plastic straws should not be banned until we can find alternatives that are affordable, environmentally friendly, and acceptable for disabled people. Starting in the 1960s, plastic straw manufacturing took off. FNB News - Choose the right straw | FNB News A plastic straw ban would serve to reduce the number of plastic straws entering the ocean. On their long journey, they will encounter many difficulties and only a small portion of them will survive. Activists Say Straws Should Be Banned Because They Are a 'Gateway Plastic' So, retailers incorporate this cost hiddenly into prices of other items sold at stores. Skip the Straw - Florida Department of Environmental Protection Yes, it should. There are definitely differing opinions on whether or not plastic straws should be banned. 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. We hear everywhere around us that we need to save energy. In fact, it is estimated that up to 10 million plastic bags are used every minute around the world [1]. Consumer outrage about the plastics crisis is already commanding attention from big companies and from many governments. Greenwashing Alert: Chemical Recycling Isnt Actually Recycling. What can I do for you? 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. LEAPE:Microplastics pervade the oceans. Petroleum-based plastic bags are composed of very resistant synthetic polymers that may take up to 1,000 years or never until they completely degrade in natural environments [6]. Start from yourself and slowly expand to your family and friends. But, are paper straws really better for the environment? In New York, 23 billion plastic bags are used by residents each year. Such changes could have outsized benefits for vulnerable populations that rely on rivers for their water supply. Plastic use costs approximately $75 billion a year [16]. Those global companies can be important levers in driving change and shifting to a regenerative, circular economy. 10 Reasons Why Plastic Bags Should Be Banned | Greentumble Now, lets get into the negatives of a plastic straw ban: While banning plastic straws might help the environment in some aspects (well talk about this later), there are also many reasons against (or cons) of a plastic straw ban. Once a person gets into the habit of bringing reusable bags when shopping, it is not much of an inconvenience at all. Plastic bags being the major component of the trash thrown away, most of it ends up on the streets. What Are Single-use Plastics and Should They Be Banned? Help raise awareness of fellow consumers that means everyone when you think about it (unless they dont shopever). There were numerous cases of birds caught in plastic bags, unable to fly and feed, eventually strangling themselves to death. New York State and Hawaii just passed theirs, set to go into effect in 2020, and Californias bag ban, which was passed in 2014, has been shown to have reduced plastic bag usage by 85 percent (with some customers opting to pay a 10 cent fee for thicker plastic bags) and has reduced coastal pollution. "To us, it was the 'gateway plastic' to the larger, more . 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. Only then would a plastic straw ban be able to actually help preserve the environment. Thats bad news for our carbon reduction goals: if plastic production continues unabated, its greenhouse gas emissions could reach 1.34 gigatons per year by 2030equal to adding nearly 300 new coal-fired power plantseven as the need to curb global climate change becomes more urgent. Plastic utensils are convenient and straws are fun for kids, but much of that plastic eventually winds up in a landfill or as litter. The trend has already started. Thoughtful laws are needed to control the problem and at the same time encourage innovation. For those governments that are opposed to full bans on plastic bags, another option is to institute a plastic bag tax, where consumers or retailers would pay a small fee for each plastic bag. Cause of environmental pollution 2. This way, disabled people can continue to be served, while also reducing the number of plastic straws that we use. The Natural Resources Defense Council works to safeguard the earth - its people, These are known to be hormone-disrupting chemicals. 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. But should plastic straws really be banned? (Photo credit: Shutterstock). Ultimately, we can further decrease costs and achieve economies of scale through decentralized production systems and perhaps also at large biorefineries. Instead of investing in quality goods that will last, we often prioritize convenience over durability and consideration of long-term impacts. edinburgh airport address. While we may not pay for plastic bags directly when we go shopping, they are anything but free.. 5 Metals in your Home that can be Recycled for Cash, How exactly bidets offer a healthier, green option for your bathroom, A Closer Look at General Motors (GM) Sustainability Initiatives. Made from petroleum products, Baekland's " bakelite " plastic was a revolutionary material. They're bad for the environment, kill marine life and damage human health. How To Make A Bracelet Out Of Plastic String?