Exposure to microplastics, as well as the chemicals that are added to plastics during processing, harm our health. Low rated: 2. So, for example, companies need to not only make products that are recyclable, but actually make them out of recycled or truly biodegradable material. Because of this, the plants and wildlife in the area have a potential risk of absorbing the microplastics through their diets and drinking water. They are tinier than a palm of your hand and appear so fragile when struggling across the beach to make it to the sea. Plastic straws are also the 6th most common trash item found during ocean cleanups. If environmental zealots and sycophants get their way, you won't be allowed to sip it through a plastic straw. 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. Making just one simple swap, like purchasing a reusable water bottle, can spare the environment hundreds of plastic bottles each year. But should plastic straws really be banned? It is estimated that there are now 150 million metric tons of plastic in the ocean. These are known to be hormone-disrupting chemicals. When you sip beverages through a straw you end up inhaling more air into your belly than you would otherwise. JIM LEAPE: Our oceans are currently swimming with plastics. Busca trabajos relacionados con Reasons why smoking should be banned articles o contrata en el mercado de freelancing ms grande del mundo con ms de 22m de trabajos. A 2017 Environmental Sciences and Technology study reported that up to 95 percent of plastic waste enters oceans from one of 10 riverseight in Asia and two in Africa. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Most of it is either dumped in landfills or ends up in the ocean. Refineries where crude oil is turned into plastic make up one of the most greenhouse gasintensive industries in the manufacturing sector. 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. Single-Use Plastics 101 | NRDC Is the Tide Turning on Our Plastic Addiction? In fact, it is estimated that up to 10 million plastic bags are used every minute around the world [1]. This form of ban could lead to a reduction in landfill across the country, going a long way to protect the nature and serenity of the area. When the monsoon rains start, streets get waterlogged just after the first few minutes because the water cannot pass through clogged sewerage pipes. 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? Pack it alongside reusable cutlery (like wood, bamboo, or metal chopsticks) for sustainable eating on the go. These microscopic plastic fragments, no more than 5 millimeters long, are hard to detectand are just about everywhere. 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned Hi, Im Hugh, and my mission with Get Green Now is to raise awareness of environmental issues and teach people how to live sustainably. Among the U.S. cities to outlaw plastic straws are Malibu, Berkeley, Seattle, and Miami Beach. 2. As communities act to ban single-use plastics and individual consumers raise concerns, bigger actors pay attention. Car Modifications for Electric Vehicles: Whats Possible. Without further due, here are the top 3 ways kids can help, Read More 3 Ways Kids can Help the EarthContinue, What Are Microplastics? Manufacturers began replacing traditionally paper or glass staples with lighter or more durable and affordable plastic alternatives; plastic jugs replaced milk jars, for instance. Interestingly, these granules contain the seeds of their own destruction: enzymes that break the polymer down when it is needed for food. 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.) 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. If plastic straws are completely banned, local small businesses like boba tea shops will have to look for pricier alternatives. Search for jobs related to Reasons why smoking should be banned articles or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 22m+ jobs. Plastic fragments in the ocean such as those from plastic bags can absorb pollutants like PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) easily. Tushy Ace Review (After 3 Months): Is this Luxury Bidet Worth it? But, getting rid of all single-use plastics definitely will. Another indirect danger of plastic bags has breeding ground in the pollution they create. Theyre in about a quarter of the seafood in our markets, and even in table salt. An Oregon community is making spectacular statues out of ocean plastic to raise awareness about a crisis at sea. 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. 2. Criddle isdirector of StanfordsCodiga Resource Recovery Center,a member ofStanford Bio-Xand an affiliate of thePrecourt Institute for Energy. The ban also kept them from littering neighborhoods and the environment. Ban of Plastic Can be Problematic. Polyethylene terephthalate, one of the most commonly recycled plastics and the material that makes up most water and soda bottles, can be turned into everything from polyester fabric to automotive parts. Left alone, plastics dont really break down; they just break up. Theyve even made their way up to the secluded Pyrenees mountain range and down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Coca-Cola makes an estimated 110 billion plastic bottles a year. By comparison, an estimated 46 percent of all pollution in the ocean is made up of lost or abandoned fishing gear (Vox). TIME for Kids | Should Plastic Straws Be Banned? 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. Single-use plastics are a glaring example of the problems with throwaway culture. 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. One recent survey found plastics in 94 percent of tap water samples in the U.S. and in nearly every brand of bottled water. Well, before putting it into the laundry basket, take a look at it closely. Will others? 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. These tiny plastic particles have been found in our oceans, soil, and even in the air. 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. You'll receive your first NRDC action alert and 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. The crisis is so serious that many people are saying that plastic straws should be outlawed. The resulting number is staggering. What Are Single-use Plastics and Should They Be Banned? Dont re-wash something if you can wear it again. The Last Straw: 5 Reasons You Should Ditch Plastic Straws China 10 Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned Manufacturers, Supply 10 Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned with High Quality, Wholesale 10 Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned with Low Price, High Quality. Recycling more plastic, more frequently, reduces its footprint. The bottom line of any plastic ban is that we must use less single-use plastics overall. India, for example, generates 25,940 tons of plastic waste every day but collects only 60 percent of it. Thoughtful laws are needed to control the problem and at the same time encourage innovation. Though plastica chain of synthetic polymers, essentiallywas invented in. FNB News - Choose the right straw | FNB News Tweet, call, or send letters to these companies to ask them to switch to more durable, recyclable, compostable, renewable, and/or recycled-content packaging with less fossil fuelderived plastic. Read more about us. Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned? That is why the United Nations Environmental Programme Secretariat has recommended a ban on all plastic bags globally. 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]. Once a paper product has been contaminated with food or drink, it must be disposed of in a landfill. We should do likewise. Each day, the United States of America uses 500 million drinking straws. Driven by public pressure, governments and corporations are considering eliminating or phasing out single-use plastics such as straws. 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. 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. For most, straws are not a necessity, but a convenience. They prevent millions of tons of plastic from entering the waste stream each year. Simply, refuse them when offered and bring your own reusable bag when shopping. High costs for cleanup 8. These steps are pretty straight forward and depend on your own initiative. Author: floridadep.gov. So, plastic bag recycling facilities are few and far between and transportation to one could be expensive. Rating: 5 (913 reviews) Highest rating: 5. Instead of searching for another buyer, maybe some soul-searching is in order. 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. On average, taxpayers end up paying about $88 per year just on plastic bag waste [15]. You can share this article on social media by using the share buttons below. Starbucks recently announced that it would phase out use of plastic straws by the year 2020. Why? Although single-use plastic pollution accumulates most visibly on our streets, in fact our water suffers even more. But a whopping 91 percent of all plastic isnt recycled at all. What is the root of the problem (consumers or municipal waste management)? A brief history of how plastic straws took over the world - Environment 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. 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. 2. This strategy has been adopted by some countries and municipalities so far and has proven to greatly reduce plastic bag usage by consumers. 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. What can I do for you? Single-use plastics are most commonly used for packaging and serviceware, such as bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags. 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned - david-el.co.il Skip the Straw - Florida Department of Environmental Protection What about you? They contribute to the contamination of our landfills and seas when they are discarded after use. Its also important to look at the bigger picture regarding plastic bans. These pieces can be so small that they are invisible to our eye. Buy a metal or bamboo reusable straw. Straws are notorious for being readily blown away by the wind. 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned - maktabyar.org 10 Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Do you also have that overflowing kitchen drawer full of plastic bags you bring from your shopping trips? 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. 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. What Is Plastic Made Of And How Is It Manufactured? Required fields are marked *. As for reusable straws, they arent flexible as plastic ones and can be easily forgotten at home. In fact, the global backlash against plastic straws likely started after researchers off the coast of Costa Rica shared a viral video of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck up its nose. There are definitely differing opinions on whether or not plastic straws should be banned. the eight worst source of ocean plastic pollution, Impact of Plastic Bags on the Environment, non-renewable fossil fuel-based resources, Plastic Bag Degradation: What You Should Know, Serious Effects of Plastic Pollution on Human Health. This could negatively reflect on their income. The very best alternative is a reusable bag. We need to make fully biodegradable polymers that are cost-competitive. Alternatives to plastic straws, such as paper, may not always be effective for disabled people: paper can be bitten through or broken easily. This means that the average consumption of plastic bags per person dropped from 328 bags per year to just 21 [20]. We use them to drink beverages at home and we get them at almost every restaurant. Avoid individually packaged goods, like snack packs. 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. 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. But the sheer amount of plastic waste inundates communities until they are drowning under thousands of tons of plastic trash. 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 You Should Give Up Plastic Straws - sustainablemotown Don't Ban Straws - Reason.com If you are constantly feeling gassy, then you should definitely consider drinking beverages the old fashioned way. and reefs composed of coral, F) I Plastic straws are one of the top five most often used items. 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. And the recent fracking boom, resulting in a surplus of oil, is fueling a subsequent rise in cracker plants, too. Cause of environmental pollution 2. If it looks clean, smells clean (and sounds clean! The problem with plastic straws is that they are one of the biggest causes of unnecessary plastic pollution. Microplastics are plastic debris that measures less than five millimetres, or 0.2 inches, in diameter. Talk to the owners of the restaurants you frequent. There were numerous cases of birds caught in plastic bags, unable to fly and feed, eventually strangling themselves to death. What Does the Plastic Bag Ban Mean for New Yorkers? Coca-Cola has said that it alone produces three million tons of plastic packaging each year, equivalent to a terrifying 200,000 plastic bottles per minute. 82 percent of the responding food service establishments were aware of the prohibition, and 69 percent of those establishments viewed the ban favorably. While we may not pay for plastic bags directly when we go shopping, they are anything but free.. Straws are said to be one of the top 10 objects recovered during beach clean-ups by the Ocean Conservancy. Better alternatives are available 10. The Pasig River in the Philippines is another scary example of the negative effects of plastic bags on the environment. 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. Plastic straws have an especially high propensity to end up in our rivers after being thrown away. TOP 10 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned BEST and NEWEST This is because the customers voluntarily reduce their consumption of plastic bags, which in turn provides enough time for retailers to find suitable alternatives and switch to them. Not easy to recycle 7. While these countries and municipalities have been making strides in their part of reducing circulation of plastic bags, in total there are 195 countries in the world [19] and the issue of plastic pollution is still getting out of our hands. The production of these bags is very energy intensive. Do plastic straws really make a difference? - Stanford Earth Reducing plastic use is the most effective means of avoiding this waste (and the impacts linked to plastic production and use). Other country that has decided to enforce the country-wide plastic bag ban after suffering of negative consequences was Mauritania. This means that you need to first educate yourself about the problem. Growing public concern has inspired movements to ban single-use plastics, most notably straws. This amount of marine life, which includes fish and turtles, is sufficient to fill 125 school buses. 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. 'Banning plastic straws will not be enough': The fight to clean the oceans Martin Grimm/Picture-alliance via Associated Press. When animals ingest plastic, it clogs up their digestive systems, which can easily choke or kill animals like birds or sea turtles. This includes grocery plastic bags, Ziplock-type bags, dry cleaning bags and bread bags. If the environmental movement drew up a Most Unwanted list for 2018, the plastic drinking straw surely would land 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. We all are just trying to do our job well. We dont know how it will in the long term affect plankton-feeding species and their predators. The risk is that banning straws may confer moral license allowing companies and their customers to feel they have done their part. Why Plastic Straws Are Being Banned - Square Arguments Why Plastic Should Be Banned - Green Matters Plastic bag litter has even caused great problems in some areas. 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. We hear everywhere around us that we need to save energy. In Germany alone, we use 40 billion plastic straws every year. These examples could go on for a long time. Come with external costs 9. You need to know what effects plastic bags have on the environment and health. The explanation is quite simple. 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. Additionally, plastics in our digestive tract may affect absorption of some important trace elements (like iron) which we need for maintaining proper health [13]. Have a look yourself to imagine the suffering of these animals. Animals living in the ocean might frequently confuse the plastic for food. Alarmingly, scientists estimate that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight in 2050. According to a study carried out in 2013, up to 35 percent of turtle deaths were caused by plastic ingestion and the probability that sea turtles will consume even more plastic increases every year [9]. Buying a product through my link comes at no extra cost to you, and I only recommend products that I believe in. As plastic bags tend to get caught in recycling machinery, most recycling facilities do not have the capacity to recycle plastic bags and therefore do not accept them. Activists Say Straws Should Be Banned Because They Are a 'Gateway Plastic' 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. China doesnt want our plastic waste anymore. 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. A recent report showed that plastic production contributes to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions at every point in its life cycle. All Rights Reserved. 1. plastic straws litter our environment Every day, about 3-6 billion plastic straws are produced. We should also try to give up plastic straws if we are capable of doing so. They store these polymers inside their cells as tiny granules. Plastic bags and plastic products overall contain substances that are harmful to our health. 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. Or you may need to accept that plastic bag this time and then start campaigning for a plastic bag ban in your area . What to do with plastic bags you already have at home? A 2018 study of coral reefs in the Asia-Pacific has confirmed that plastic waste deposited on coral reefs promotes outbreaks of diseases that gradually destroy whole reef colonies [12]. Plastic items are more sanitary than other alternatives.
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