500,000,000 straws are used every day, that’s right, 500 MILLION, and a straw is only used once for a matter of minutes before you throw it away. What a waste! You might not think that straws are bad at the time, but as a piece of “single-use” plastic, it is one the worst things for our environment. Straws take 200 of years to breakdown (and NEVER fully biodegrade), which means every single straw, ever created is still with us on earth. Straws are consistently in the top 10 collected items at beach cleanups and plastic makes up more than 90% of all the trash in the world’s oceans. This nasty, plastic pollution gets swept up into the ocean’s currents and ends up in huge masses of waste, such as The Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. All this toxic waste doesn’t just affect humans. Straws and other plastic pollution have a DEVASTATING effect on our wildlife, including all aspects of our ecosystem such as birds, fish, sea turtles, etc… 1,000,000 birds are victims to straws every year. It is estimated that 90% of birds have eaten a piece of plastic. It is estimated by 2050 that 99% percent of birds will have eaten plastic. Fish eat 12,000 to 25,0000 tons of plastic every year in the North Pacific. This then impacts the entire food chain as bigger fish, whales and dolphins consume the smaller species that have consumed the plastic pieces. Plastic bags and straws are terrible for sea turtles, often mistaken by them for food, ultimately ending up in their digestive system, and add real barriers to survival for many different endangered species. This is an example of how 1 plastic straw can affect a cherished sea creature, and highlights the importance of our efforts to STOP USING STRAWS!
CLICK ON THIS LINK TO SEE DISTRESSING FOOTAGE OF ONE STRAW’s EFFECT ON A SEA TURTLE:
WE NEED TO ACT! We must decrease the use of straws. KEAP has been inspired by The Last Plastic Straw Initiative (www.thelastplasticstraw.org and www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org ) to campaign locally to stop the use of plastic straws at our schools and restaurants. We plan to meet with administrators and managers to spread the word of the harmful effect that straws have and emphasize the importance of taking action.
We are asking schools and restaurants to take action by removing plastic straws or at least to only offer them upon request. We want the community to know the positive impact our schools and restaurants are having with this initiative and we plan to reach out to local media and them to recognize each as a green business leader.
We have PETITIONS for signature to emphasize their pledge. Please contact us to help facilitate your efforts in your community.
LET’S DO THIS!
Citations
“The Agony Caused by Just One Piece of Plastic Thrown into the Sea: Turtle Writhes in Pain as a Drinking Straw Is Pulled from Its Nose by Ocean Researchers .” Daily Mail, Jack Polden, 14 Aug. 2016, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3197604/The-agony-caused-just-one-piece-plastic-thrown-sea-Turtle-writhes-pain-drinking-straw-pulled-nose-ocean-researchers.html.
“Are Drinking Straws Dangerous.” Plasticpollutioncoalition, Emili DiFrisco, Jackie Nunez, 28 Apr. 2017, www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/pft/2017/4/28/are-drinking-straws-dangerous.
“How Long Does It Take Trash to Decompose.” 4 Ocean, 4 Ocean Team, 20 Jan. 2017, 4ocean.com/blogs/blog/how-long-does-it-take-trash-to-biodegrade.
“Straws: Why They Seriously Suck.” 1 Million Women, 1 Million Women, 14 July 2016, www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog/straws-why-they-seriously-suck/.
“Straw wars: The fight to rid the oceans of discarded plastic”
“You are what you eat with: Why saying yes to plastic straws is a big no for the planet”