Who thought that the cheapest human-made invention known as plastic would be one the most significant issue for the entire ecosystem. The use of plastic instead of other metals and substances; indeed considered more reliable. But we can not deny that everything over the planet has its own advantages and disadvantages.
This human-made smart creation is now the part of our everyday life, and to get free from its use is just impossible. However, minimizing the use and overuse strategy crucially affects the ratio in favour of the environment.
Every subject matter made up of plastic adds some percent of its to the total ratio of plastic waste every day. Unlike poly bags, single-use medical waste, plastic utensils are also a significant cause of pollution these days. However, some positive initiatives with management and ban of plastic are also being adopted worldwide now.
Sipping cold-coffee, chilling beverages, etc. at the cafe, restaurants with straws is convenient but increases the rate of plastic pollution. These drinking tubes in varied colours, even now designs, look funky and attractive, yet harmful for the environment. Have you ever thought What Percent Of Ocean Pollution Is Plastic Straws? Well, let’s explain wordily about the percentile, harms, and plans prior to ban straws to avoid pollution.
Ban Of Single-Use Plastic Worldwide
After releasing the facts and figures over plastic waste and its critical pollution leads, many countries have banned it. Putting a stop the use of plastic bags, plastic utensils and bottles is now competing huge trash over the planet. Below are some of the global brands that planned for the future of the planet. These companies are as follows:
No To Plastic As Indicated By Walt Disney Company
However, forbidding single-use plastic is more critical to a safe environment. In mid of 2019, Walt Disney Company takes the initiative to eliminate single-use plastics straws, spoons, stirrers, and more. In fact, it also focused on the reduction of other plastic items in hotels, cruise ships, and shopping zones. Even planned to abolish plastic shopping bags and styrofoam food packings.
Stop Using Plastic By Starbucks
Unlike Walt Disney, Starbucks also proposed the idea of not using straws and will replace the new lid for their beverages. Preferably using adult sippy cups attached with straws, Starbucks outlet almost 1 billion of plastics straws annually.
Other Parts Of The World Ban Plastic Straws
A domestic coffee company in Seattle was the first US city that abolishes the use of plastic straws in July last year. Moreover, New York City also took a positive initiative to ban plastic straws forever in the city until 2020.
Precisely other regions such as Malibu, San Luis Obispo, and California also join hands in favour of stop using plastic straws. Other significant regions like Fort Myers, Floria, etc. also join hands to work in support of the reduction of plastic straws.
As plastic is a very cheap and affordable material; used in almost everything. The use of plastic adds comfort to some extent and harm for uncountable years in our life. However, in 2017, the use of plastic bags; imposed bans and taxes with punishable enforced rules in 28 countries.
As a fact, there is no national movement in the US, but still, many cities and states are in favour of the plastic ban. In fact, California was the first state to abolish single-use plastic bags, bottles, lids, straws, and other items in 2014. This favourable environmental objective; later adopted in other states with the imposition of taxes on plastic bags.
Social Media And Celebrities Efforts To Ban Plastic Straws
In the trend of hashtags, #StopSucking was quite in fame. Especially when an author like Chelsea Clinton, who is already working for global health and environmental issues posted in say no plastic straws. Even the popular science communicator and author Neil deGrasse Tyson also made efforts in the same.
Other famous names like Russell Crowe, Tom Brady, Sonam Kapoor, and Tom Felton also pledge for no to plastic straws. In fact, Lonely Whale’s Anti-Straw campaign was also the part to safeguard oceans from plastic wastes.
Future To Ban Plastic Straws
On global count, when marine pollution is at an alarming rate, apart from US, UK, European Parliament also announced a provisional agreement to abolish the use of 10 kinds of single-use plastics counting plastic utensils, cutlery, coffee lids, and straws by 2021 end.
In past-recent years, Britain, Scotland, Chile, India, Taiwan, EU, etc. announced eco-friendly plans to get rid of single-use plastics. Even Ikea also proposed a plan to end up the sale and use of single-use plastics by 2020 end.
Why To Ban Plastic Straws?
There is an urgency to stop the use of plastic products as maximum as we can. But still getting rid of them completely is an impossible task. Usage of straws seems uncountable to plastic pollution, yet it is one of the biggest problems, especially to marine plastic waste. However, straws are not fully responsible for marine plastic pollution, but abolishing the use will somewhat lower the level of plastic trash in the environment.
Single-use plastic is more worst for managing ecosystems, making it bad and harmful for all living species over the planet. Cheapest and convenient use of these celluloid plastic items like bags, straws, lids, etc. gives big problems to the oceans and landfills too.
Nowadays, plastic straws are commonly served worldwide in roadside beverage stalls, restaurants, cafes, etc. In fact, 175 million plastic straws are thrown daily. These are generally are non-biodegradable, so do not breakdown into simple compounds like carbon and water.
Why Make World Focused On Stop Using Plastic Straws?
Many environmental organizations are taking a positive initiative in favour of ecological health as prior. They are keen and focused on the ban of using straws worldwide by raising awareness among the general population.
The motivation and support to abolish plastic straws and single-use plastic products is the need of time urgently. An open battle with adverse effects of plastic like straws, bags, utensils, with the ecosystem, taking the lives of innocent animals.
It even harms the landfills, as impossible to recycle because they are thrown or blown without management. If breakdown becomes micro-plastic and chokes the windpipe or stomach of species. Moreover, intoxicates the environment, land, air, or water with a harmful substance, and odour as well.
Is Plastic Straw Ban Really Beneficial?
It is not surprising that plastic is creating pollution at a massive rate globally. Thus, taking small positive effects will crucially help in reducing the adversity of it. The use of reusable plastic straws or paper straws is a quite cool and eco-friendly step. Avoid using single-use plastic straws will help in cutting off some amount of toxication to the environment.
In the year 2017, Ocean Conservancy’s 2017 Coastal Cleanup Report that common trash like a cigarette butt, plastic bottles, poly bags, food wrappers, and other edible packings is found near beaches and seas. This all dump openly nearby sea, affecting the soil.
However, when blown to ocean water by waves of wind or water adverse too. Apart from all mentioned plastic trash, straws and stirrers; also listed to count almost 3 percent of plastic pollution in water.
If calculating the pollution generated by straws, it counted to be as 0.03 percentile. This seems to be minor in number yet harmful to the environment with a significant percentage for millions of years. Limiting the use of plastic straws is a significant step to keep ocean pollution little stress over.
Why There Is The Need Of Plastic Straws?
Globally, the usability of plastic straws is challenging to ban, as it a convenient drinking utensil for kids, elders, and disables. In general, patients also face issues in lifting the drinks and diets, with lips. Thus, straws are essential for them too. So arguing over the complete ban of other positive measures still needs to think ideally.
What To Do To Keep Oceans Clean And Keeping Plastic Out Of It?
- Instead of using plastic straws, you can use biodegradable and eco-friendly straws.
- Even more use of paper straws will also cut off the threating pollution issue worldwide.
- Reusable straws are also available in the market, so stop using single-use plastic straws.
- If you are convenient in drinking your beverage without straw, you can simply say no cafe, restaurants, etc.
- If you are using plastic straws in your drink, then do trash it properly into the dustbin. Do not throw that openly on beaches, parks, roadside, etc.
- Be the part of social awareness programs and objectives, focusing on pollution-free environment, plastic-free world, and more.
- Making kids and teens more aware of the plastic harms and trashing of plastic waste.
- Awareness workshops and aims on eco-friendly strategy will add more profit to the entire ecosystem.
- In fact, metal straws are also invented, which is a useful replacement for plastic straws.
- Even degrade straws in drinks are also available as imported from China in many parts of the world.
Final Verdict
Keeping people aware is more prior and necessary to safeguard the environment. However, abolishing the use of plastic, especially the single-use one, is more inappropriate. Minimizing the use of plastic items in everyday life will impact positively.
Taking more advanced and precise ways to keep the ocean and land free from plastic will improve the quality of life and health. Open discussions and plans to think over plastic pollution will also help to make the ecosystem clean and healthy.
Read also: https://earth.stanford.edu/news/do-plastic-straws-really-make-difference