By Natalia Estrada
Routine is ingrained in all people’s lives, one way or another. With routine comes the basics, the main one being eating and drinking. It is always a question, whether at home or at a restaurant: Would you like a straw? A simple question, with varied outcomes for the earth’s environment. In these last couple of years, the controversy of plastic straws has grown immensely.
Pollution in oceans gets a large contribution from plastic straws. According to the organizations 1 Million Women and GetGreenNow, there is a particular form of plastic called type 5 plastic (polypropylene) that can only be used once and is thrown into landfills. This single-use plastic is not biodegradable. It takes two hundred years to break down, but will never be fully off of the earth. Most straws happen to be made from polypropylene/type 5 plastic. When plastic is broken down, it releases toxic chemicals into the air that reaches wildlife and the environment. At least five hundred million straws are thrown away each day in the United States.
The environmental impact contributed from plastic straws does not only affect humans, but plants and animals too. A large amount of straws get thrown into the ocean due to littering. After plastic is in the ocean, it breaks down into various small pieces referred to as “microplastics”. Marine life such as fish, turtles, dolphins, and even birds are at a high risk of consuming plastic. They eat it because they think it is food. According to the activist organization For A Strawless Ocean, it has been estimated that by 2050, 99% of all seabird species will have ingested plastic. Over one million birds die annually from choking on plastic. Straws are in the list of top ten items found when beaches are being cleaned up.
An example of the toll straws take on animals can be seen in a viral YouTube video of a sea turtle on the coast of Costa Rica. Biologists found a straw lodged in the nose of an Olive ridley sea turtle. They had come to the conclusion that the sea turtle had swallowed the straw, and the straw got stuck in the turtle’s nose when it was trying cough the straw out.The turtle was bleeding and it was a painful process to remove the plastic. Brenda Vega, a junior Business major at UNI, has strong opinions on this subject. “Plastic is not good for the environment in general. I have heard a lot about sea animals having died because of plastic. It hurts my heart that these animals are suffering because of a problem that doesn’t have to exist.” The question now is, how can this be solved?
There are a lot of plastic straw bans happening in restaurants, stores, etc. around the country. On July 9th, 2018, as noted on their website, Starbucks“announced it will eliminate single-use plastic straws from its more than 28,000 company operated and licensed stores by making a strawless lid or alternative-material straw options available, around the world”. This claim is supposed to reduce usage of one billion straws per year. Starbucks will change to the strawless lid for all of their beverages. This goal is set to be in place by 2020.
There are also states that are proposing plastic straw bans. In September 2018, California’s governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill No. 1884, which is as follows: at restaurants that are sit-down and order, the restaurant staff cannot provide straws unless they are asked for one by the customer. This law is serious - a full service restaurant will get two warnings. After that, they will be fined twenty five dollars per day.
The City of Seattle, Washington officially set forth a plastic straw ban on July 1st, 2018. “The City of Seattle requires all food service businesses to find recyclable or compostable packaging and serviceware alternatives to all disposable food service items such as containers, cups, straws, and utensils” (Seattle Public Utilities). If someone needs a straw, they will receive a compostable paper straw. The food service businesses include cafeterias, coffee shops, food trucks/stands, grocery stores, and restaurants. This is not the first time the city of Seattle has passed sustainable legislation. According to the Seattle Times Newspaper, In 2008, an ordinance was passed requiring all one-time-use food service items, such as take-out containers/trays, be recyclable or compostable. Styrofoam packaging was banned in 2009. Just like California, there are fees if businesses do not comply. Seattle Public Utilities charges a fee of $250.
22 year old Heriberto Juarez Duran, an exchange student from Mexico, lays the matter out in simple terms: “I don’t get why plastic straws are even used and up for debate. If we can all drink from a cup, then there is no need for anything else.” While Duran’s opinion is commonthought, it does not account for people with health conditions or disabilities who need to use straws. Sometimes, specifically plastic straws.
Biodegradable options like paper straws can easily tear apart, which is problematic for people who have limited jaw control. Alice Wong, who uses a wheelchair and a ventilator to breathe, must accommodate the way she eats food and drinks. In an article she posted on the Eater website titled ‘The Last Straw’, Wong describes how movement in her arms and hands is limited. Straws help her navigate her drinks better, where she is less likely to tip it over. “Plastic is seen as cheap, “anti-luxury”, wasteful, and harmful to the environment. All true. Plastic is also an essential part of my health and wellness. With my neuromuscular disability, plastic straws are necessary tools for my hydration and nutrition”, says Wong. She has faced discrimination when asking for plastic straws at restaurants. Wong has been told to bring reusable straws with her, but she bounced back. “Why would a disabled customer have to bring something in order to drink while non-disabled people have the convenience and ability to use what is provided for free?” Duran’s thoughts have been answered by Wong’s story, and so many others like her.
CNN covered a story on 25 year old Daniel Gilbert, who was born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This is a genetic disorder that causes progressive deterioration of the body’s muscles. His muscles have weakened to the point of struggling to pick up cups. Paper straws can dissolve or be bitten through. Metal straws can get too hot or too cold. Glass straws can be broken for people with facial tics. Reusable straws can be difficult to sterilize and maintain. Compostable straws can dissolve in hot liquids, therefore are a choking hazard.Problems may arise with allergy concerns of plant plastics in more eco-friendly options.
As S.E. Smith stated on a Vox article in July 2018, “We can save the environment and still be inclusive toward the disabled community. Straws make up a tiny fraction of what’s in the ocean. Images of wildlife impaled on straws and filling their stomachs with plastic are disturbing, but the real problem is microplastics, which results from the breakdown of plastics in industrial waste and accumulates across the marine food chain”. She also talks about how plastic water bottles are a huge component of the plastic problem, but is not getting as much attention as it should.
Overall, the debate on plastic straws is not a new issue. Straws are just a dent in the harmfulness of plastic. While all of these initiatives to help animals and the earth is important, it is also necessary to examine how this process affects ALL people. We should listen to everyone’s voice and continue finding ways to improve.
Picture Sources:
NBC New York
NBC New York
thelastplasticstraw.org
ecowatch.com
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