Most of it is either dumped in landfills or ends up in the ocean. 23 Reasons Why we should ban Plastic Bags | Environment Buddy 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned - david-el.co.il female pomeranian temperament; splinterlands terms and conditions; carbon emissions data by company; ( ) + . 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]. Accompanied by high social accountability and musical garbage trucks, that strategy has proved wildly effective: the island now reports recycling rates above 50 percent. A brief history of how plastic straws took over the world - Environment 1. The manufacturing of reusable bags or compostable alternatives to plastic bags offers a new opportunity to create sustainable products and provide jobs that go with them. However, as an environmental enthusiast, heres what I think about this ban. Reduce Aesthetic value of your neighborhood. They're bad for the environment, kill marine life and damage human health. It is predicted that each year 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean, with 1.152.41 tons of that plastic being carried there by major rivers all over the world. keep you informed with the latest alerts and progress reports. 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. Once in the ocean, plastic pollution is extremely dangerous to marine life, and plastic straws are no exception. The most common are inorganic dyes that are added to change the color of plastic bags. A laboratory photograph of microplastics found in the Corsica River in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Maryland, An albatross found dead with a belly full of plastic on Midway Atoll. Shuddering and unable to breathe, he vomited up five plastic bags. Driven by public pressure, governments and corporations are considering eliminating or phasing out single-use plastics such as straws. Polypropylene is a form of plastic that is frequently used in the production of straws. Getting rid of a single plastic straw may not have a very large effect on the environment. 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. 4. Plastic fragments in the ocean such as those from plastic bags can absorb pollutants like PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) easily. 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. Thus, plastic straws cant be recycled. As plastic bags are not disposed properly . All Rights Reserved. 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. Recycling more plastic, more frequently, reduces its footprint. Many people with disabilities rely on flexible straws to drink safely and independently. Even if you can't go zero waste entirely, it's high time we all ended our reliance on single use plastics. 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. According to market research firms, Americans use about 350 million plastic straws every single day. It is good for our environment, health and global climate. Banning Straws and Bags Won't Solve our Plastic Problem Such changes could have outsized benefits for vulnerable populations that rely on rivers for their water supply. 1. They are tinier than a palm of your hand and appear so fragile when struggling across the beach to make it to the sea. 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. Hi, Im Hugh, and my mission with Get Green Now is to raise awareness of environmental issues and teach people how to live sustainably. 2. Plastic bags are a convenient way to carry our purchased goods when we go shopping. Thats a promising start. Animals can also easily become entangled in this plastic waste. 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]. Not only is plastic estimated to kill millions of marine animals and seabirds each year, but its also contaminating seafood that humans have relied on for millennia, particularly with microplastics in animals guts. As communities act to ban single-use plastics and individual consumers raise concerns, bigger actors pay attention. The country instituted the ban in 2013 to minimize livestock deaths. Single-Use Plastics 101 | NRDC Well, before putting it into the laundry basket, take a look at it closely. However, we are all too familiar with situations when a cashier automatically puts your items in a plastic bag before you can oppose it. Plastic bags and plastic products overall contain substances that are harmful to our health. Single-use plastics in particularespecially small items like straws, bags, and cutleryare traditionally hard to recycle because they fall into the crevices of recycling machinery and therefore are often not accepted by recycling centers. Criddle has evaluated use of microorganisms to biodegrade plastic materials and to synthesize biodegradable bioplastics from waste feedstocks. A recent report showed that plastic production contributes to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions at every point in its life cycle. Paper straws are horrible and should be taken out of circulation Some opposers of the plastic straw ban say that a ban is unlikely to actually help the environment, as plastic straws do not make up a large percentage of plastic in the ocean. This way, disabled people can continue to be served, while also reducing the number of plastic straws that we use. Plastics bags are not so much necessary that man cannot live without it. There is only one requirement these plastic bags need to be dry and clean, otherwise they contaminate the entire batch and your effort will do more harm than good. Required fields are marked *. Its possible that using a plastic straw would make it easier for you to drink without spilling, but the long-term expenses are not worth it. Most plastic straws are made from harsh chemicals making them impossible to reuse or recycle. Growing public concern has inspired movements to ban single-use plastics, most notably straws. Should Plastic Straws Be Banned? | Persuasive Writing | Scholastic About half the cost of making biodegradable polymers is the cost of feedstock. While an extra two cents may not seem like a lot, it could make a difference for some businesses that depend on plastic straws. More and more states are looking to pass a new kind of recycling law that asks manufacturers to foot the bill for the waste created by their products. Well, a possible alternative solution could be to encourage businesses to only give out plastic straws on request. Theyre in about a quarter of the seafood in our markets, and even in table salt. You'll receive your first NRDC action alert and Plastic straws are also the 6th most common trash item found during ocean cleanups. 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned Our goal is to inspire people to change their attitudes and behaviors toward a more sustainable life. Quick Navigation for Reasons Why Plastic Shopping Bags Should Be Banned REASONS 1. Items made of plastic that come into contact with food can be recycled, whereas products made of paper that absorb both food and garbage cannot. Increased awareness about the negative effects of single-use plastics would help the environment a lot more than just a simple plastic straw ban. Will others? These pieces can be so small that they are invisible to our eye. We produce 300 million tons of plastic each year worldwide, half of which is for single-use items. 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. CRAIG CRIDDLE: In addition to recycling more and reusing materials more, we need new materials that can do the same jobs as current plastics, but are biodegradable, nontoxic and do not concentrate in food chains. McDonalds swapped its plastic straws for paper at its United Kingdom and Ireland restaurants. For the oceans sake, wed better hope so. These steps are pretty straight forward and depend on your own initiative. LEAPE:Plastic straws are only a tiny fraction of the problem less than 1 percent. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. McDonald's recently announced . It has been projected that, if current trends continue, by 2050 the plastic in the ocean will outweigh the fish. 10 Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned - manufacturer, factory This type of plastic is derived from petroleum. Some Disabled People Require Plastic Straws to Drink For some people with disabilities, straws are the only way they can drink. Plastic use costs approximately $75 billion a year [16]. We've all become too hooked on the availability and comfort of the stuff. (Some places are going so far as to ban single-use plastics entirely; most notably, India intends to go this route by 2022.) They prevent millions of tons of plastic from entering the waste stream each year. Those global companies can be important levers in driving change and shifting to a regenerative, circular economy. 10 reasons why plastic straws should not be banned Some microplastics are even small by design, like the microbeads used in facial scrubs or the microfibers in polyester clothing. When you sign up you'll become a member of NRDC's Activist Network. Fortunately, microorganisms can also use cheap, renewable substrates, such as food wastes, biogas methane, carbon dioxide and renewable hydrogen. In the spirit of eliminating waste, plastic straws appeared to be a way to further the cause: straws aren't essential to the dining experience, and by banning them, oceans, streets, and general society would theoretically benefit. Ill also go over whether or not plastic straw bans will actually help the environment, and explain everything else youll need to know. It is estimated that there are now 150 million metric tons of plastic in the ocean. According to a study that was published by Bloomberg News, it is predicted that the percentage of contaminated ocean water that is caused by plastic straws and stirrers is a shockingly modest 0.03 percent. Growing public concern has inspired movements to ban single-use plastics, most notably straws. 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. CRIDDLE:Cost is a huge issue. They suspect that it may add stress on the liver by introducing more pathogens into the body. Killing wildlife 5. In the United States, California has banned single-use plastic bags in 2016, but the city of San Francisco has locally issued this ban already in 2012 and consumers pay a little fee for other alternatives like compostable bags or recycled paper bags. 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. Look for another place that does accept or use alternative packaging, such as small local stores that use paper wraps or compostable bags. Additionally, someone has to pay the cost of dealing with plastic bags in the waste stream. Instead it ends up in landfills or in the environment. update email soon. Juan Cristobal Cobo/Bloomberg via Getty Images. In fact, plastic straws only make up around 0.03 percent of total plastic waste by mass. Once a paper product has been contaminated with food or drink, it must be disposed of in a landfill. But beyond these impacts, the bans have cultural effects. 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. 82 percent of the responding food service establishments were aware of the prohibition, and 69 percent of those establishments viewed the ban favorably. It started with cardboard straws, but once plastic production in America increased, people realized it was quicker and cheaper to produce plastic straws. Though plastica chain of synthetic polymers, essentiallywas invented in. How? Cause of environmental pollution 2. Individual choicesand the collective shifts they bring aboutadd up quickly. Carrying reusable bags and bottles is one great way to avoid single-use plastics in our day-to-day lives; more on preventing plastic waste can be found below. Will Shifting to Reusable Straws Really Make a Difference? They store these polymers inside their cells as tiny granules. They are also capable of being ingested by fish, seabirds, and marine mammals, which in turn causes the animals injury and, in the case of fish, allows them to enter the human food chain. These modern conveniences are so ubiquitousand so quickly thrown outthat they hardly register in our minds. 1. 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. 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. 8 good reasons to give up plastic straws - CareElite Summary: Reduce your use of single-use plastics. The people of Macon, Georgia, saw through it.