You can’t deny there’s something wonderful about straws. They must be the only object that can somehow evoke childhood and alcohol at the same time – a treasure trove of long-forgotten memories. Unfortunately our fondness for sipping is having a disastrous effect on the environment and wildlife, and we need to stop it now.
They last for years
Plastic straws can be placed alongside food, smoking and alcohol as one of our biggest addictions. Every day the US alone uses 500 million straws – an eye-watering number for a product that is entirely unnecessary. They are senselessly handed out with an extraordinary number of drinks, from cocktails to coke cans, and they are not biodegradable. Each one ends up in landfill, leaching toxins into the soil and they take about 200 years to degrade and decompose. That straw you thoughtlessly threw in the bin will outlive you by a century or two, which is part of the problem.
Plastic’s long lifespan isn’t new information. We know it’s terrible for the environment but we don’t care. It’s easy and cheap and if it causes a problem 200 years from now that will be somebody else’s problem. What will affect our own lives is running out of landfill space and if the UK does not change its ways it will run out before too long.
Sealife and Straws
It isn’t just the overcrowded landfills that we need to worry about but the sea too. Scientists estimate that a million sea birds and 100,000 turtles and marine mammals die each year from ingesting or getting trapped in plastic. A video that went viral in 2015 shows the problem in all its stark and distressing reality.
A group of marine biologists picked up an injured olive ridley sea turtle (an endangered species) thinking it had a parasitic worm nesting in its nose. With only a Swiss army knife to hand, they tried to pull the worm out, only to discover it was actually a plastic straw. The scientists’ disgust is palpable. The clearly hurt turtle lies bleeding as the straw is painfully removed and one furious biologist can be heard swearing: “Is it a fucking straw? Don’t tell me it’s a straw”.
It’s upsetting viewing but it’s a video that anyone who’s ever used a straw needs to watch. We cannot be content to give cute animals centre stage on social media while ignoring our horrific impact on them. For every active Instagram user there are 1.25 straws discarded each day in the US alone, and they find their way into the stomachs of birds, fish, whales, dolphins, seals and turtles. If you like animals, you should loathe straws.
Soho Takes a Stand
A few companies and charities are fighting back. Straw Wars began in Soho in 2012 and aims to get London’s restaurants to give up plastic straws. Its manifesto is simple – either get rid of them altogether or provide one only when a customer actually asks. Some 72 companies have signed up in the last five years and each signature helps take plastic straws from our sights and seas.
It’s not enough though. Fast food joints are undoubtedly the worst offenders. McDonalds hands out 3.5m straws to Brits every single day. When biodegradable eco-friendly versions are readily available there’s no excuse for using and providing plastic ones. Bamboo is a spectacular alternative as it’s a fast-growing and sustainable resource. It’s also friendly and safe for both children and drunks. Natural straws were used for millennia before paper straws came along in 1888 and became the norm until the ’60s, when plastic ones were introduced. If we managed that long without them, we can do it again – we just have to send that message to companies like McDonalds.
The fight against straws is on our shoulders. When customers place an order they should request that straws are not given to them, their friends or their children. Very few people genuinely need a straw and no, smudging your lipstick isn’t a good enough reason to get one. If Londoners send the message to bars and restaurants that straws are no longer welcome in our city, maybe they’ll start to catch on. If they don’t, you’ve still made a small difference and future generations of both people and turtles will thank you.
If surviving without a straw isn’t an option, invest in an alternative of bamboo, paper or glass today.
by Jo Davey
The post Environment: Straws Really Do Suck appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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