10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned3 on 3 basketball tournaments in colorado

In addition, despite the fact that the FDA has deemed this to be safe for consumption, chemicals from the plastic may seep into liquids, releasing substances that have the potential to influence estrogen levels. Summary: Reduce your use of single-use plastics. When animals ingest plastic, it clogs up their digestive systems, which can easily choke or kill animals like birds or sea turtles. We use them to drink beverages at home and we get them at almost every restaurant. 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. 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. Scientists have recorded some species of zooplankton eating tiny plastic particles. Plastic bags floating in the ocean resemble jellyfish, one of the main sources of food for some species of sea turtles, especially the critically-endangered Leatherback turtles. A complete ban on plastic straws would harm disabled people, which definitely isnt the goal of such a ban. As communities act to ban single-use plastics and individual consumers raise concerns, bigger actors pay attention. This amount of marine life, which includes fish and turtles, is sufficient to fill 125 school buses. NDLA National Disability Leadership Alliance: Nothing About Us Without Us. When you sip beverages through a straw you end up inhaling more air into your belly than you would otherwise. So, plastic bag recycling facilities are few and far between and transportation to one could be expensive. 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. The problem with plastic straws is that they are one of the biggest causes of unnecessary plastic pollution. Have a look yourself to imagine the suffering of these animals. 12 Reasons for Banning Plastic Bags: Plastic Bags Are Made With Non-Renewable Energy Plastic Bags Use Up Lots Of Energy Plastic Bags End Up In The Ocean Beach Plastic Litter Is On The Rise Plastic Bags Kill Millions Of Animals Every Year Plastic Takes A Long Time To Disintegrate Plastic Is Harming The Ocean's Coral Plastic Bags Contain Toxins In many instances, it may seem too awkward for you to refuse the bag, so you accept it this one time, but you should know that it is fine to say no politely even at this stage if you dont want that bag. The Natural Resources Defense Council works to safeguard the earth - its people, Sea turtles are not the only species suffering from plastic bag pollution of the environment. Single-use plastics are most commonly used for packaging and serviceware, such as bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags. In 2008, a crocodile in Australia died because of 25 plastic bags filling its stomach [11]. 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. The Pasig River is the eight worst source of ocean plastic pollution in the world. Communities and consumers can play vital roles in sparking action. It is good for our environment, health and global climate. The country instituted the ban in 2013 to minimize livestock deaths. Starting in the 1960s, plastic straw manufacturing took off. As it turns out, many microorganisms make moldable bioplastic polymers that are fully degradable. Nows the Time. 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. 4. 2. 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. Some Disabled People Require Plastic Straws to Drink For some people with disabilities, straws are the only way they. In 2015 researchers from the University of Georgia estimated that between 4.8 million and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic per year make their way into the oceans via people living within 30 miles of a coast. 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. 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? Here are 3 reasons why plastic straws should not be banned, explained in a simple and easy-to-understand manner: For some people with disabilities, straws are the only way they can drink. If the answer is yes, you should know that this inadvertent overconsumption of single-use plastic carries with it a very high cost to the environment, which in turn also negatively affects our health. Tushy Ace Review (After 3 Months): Is this Luxury Bidet Worth it? But beyond these impacts, the bans have cultural effects. But this comes along with many unanswered questions. In fact, plastic straws only make up around 0.03 percent of total plastic waste by mass. Most retailers will get your point, but it can also happen that they will not be willing to sell you some products without placing it in their plastic bags because of having to oblige with some hygiene and sanitary standards (for example when selling meat products). When you sign up you'll become a member of NRDC's Activist Network. Overall, the main reason for a plastic straw ban is to help the environment by preventing plastic straws pollution. Search for jobs related to Reasons why smoking should be banned articles or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 22m+ jobs. and reefs composed of coral, F) I Plastic straws are one of the top five most often used items. LEAPE:There are two clear imperatives. Cause of environmental pollution 2. Globally, 8 to 10 percent of our current oil supply goes to a plastic bag manufacture [4]. For instance, a lot of the plastic produced in Asian countries is for products that serve U.S. demandand the United States often sends plastic waste back to these countries for recycling.). Which brings us to the second part. Once in the ocean, plastic pollution is extremely dangerous to marine life, and plastic straws are no exception. As a result, the actual recycling rate for plastic bags globally is between 5 to 15 percent, while in the United States it makes only 1 percent a year [17]. This could negatively reflect on their income. Already in 2001, researchers found that the mass of microscopic plastic fragments in the North Pacific Central Gyre was 6 times higher than of plankton. American beaver populations are booming in the western United States as conditions grow hotter and drier. Companies are trying to sell communities on a toxic solution to the plastic pollution crisis. In fact, it is estimated that up to 10 million plastic bags are used every minute around the world [1]. After all, ask your grandparents, they will remember that during their time people were used to go shopping with their own bags or baskets. Though plastica chain of synthetic polymers, essentiallywas invented in the mid-19th century, it wasnt until the 1970s that its popularity skyrocketed. As a result, the ban will reduce the number of plastic straws polluting the ocean. We are a couple of environmentalists who seek inspiration for life in simple values based on our love for nature. Plastic straws are everywhere we look. China doesnt want our plastic waste anymore. Recently, however, plastic straws have been the subject of many plastic bans in an attempt to help the environment. Interestingly, these granules contain the seeds of their own destruction: enzymes that break the polymer down when it is needed for food. 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. Most drop-off collection points accept plastic bags made from high-density polyethylene (plastic number 2) and low-density polyethylene (plastic number 4). Thoughtful laws are needed to control the problem and at the same time encourage innovation. Therefore, a plastic straw ban by itself is unlikely to be very effective in actually helping the environment, although it could act as a gateway into the reduction of other single-use plastics. Plastic straws are one of the most common forms of pollution found on beaches and in oceans all over the world. That is why the United Nations Environmental Programme Secretariat has recommended a ban on all plastic bags globally. You are free to have your own personal opinion on whether or not we should ban plastic straws. Author: floridadep.gov. 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. These actions are a response to calls for change and shifting consumer habits. Yeah I end up going through like 5 paper straws because they keep disintegrating and I can't drink my drink anymore. What about you? If we ban single-use plastic straws we will have to turn to the dangerous alternatives.In source As a result, they are thrown away and frequently wind up in the ocean, where they pollute the water and eventually kill marine birds, animals, and fish. Now, lets get into the negatives of a plastic straw ban: While banning plastic straws might help the environment in some aspects (well talk about this later), there are also many reasons against (or cons) of a plastic straw ban. (Everything You Need To Know)Continue, Many restaurants have banned plastic straws due to their harmful effects on the environment, and have switched to paper alternatives instead. Since plastic bag recycling requires a specialized equipment that can break down the plastic and mold it into a new product, most municipalities do not have the budget to include their recycling in their waste management program. 15. Instead of investing in quality goods that will last, we often prioritize convenience over durability and consideration of long-term impacts. Lizzie Carr is shining a light on what is floating through the worlds waterways, and breaking athletic records along the way. Considering what important source of food plankton is for many other species, it is clear that plastic gets distributed across the marine ecosystem. Martin Grimm/Picture-alliance via Associated Press. Plastic bags are a convenient way to carry our purchased goods when we go shopping. That's a whole 900 tons of plastic waste produced every day, and that's just for plastic straws! . Even human footprints left in the sand represent mountain-like obstacles in their path and waves washing up on the beach are another challenge, as they thrust them back on the dry land to try once again before finally being picked up by a return current and start swimming for their life. Plastic bag litter has even caused great problems in some areas. Help us break the cycle of causing unnecessary harm and damage in the name of "convenience". You can be sure of one thing, though. Plastic bags and plastic products overall contain substances that are harmful to our health. What Does the Plastic Bag Ban Mean for New Yorkers? We need to make fully biodegradable polymers that are cost-competitive. They contribute to the contamination of our landfills and seas when they are discarded after use. National Geographic made a video on how helpless it feels to be caught in a plastic bag. 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. Prior the ban, 70 percent of livestock losses were attributed to plastic bag ingestion. You can use some easy online locators to see the closest plastic bag drop-off. Straws have been found stuck in a sea turtle's nose and wedged in the stomachs of dead birds and dolphins. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. And recent studies found plastic in the guts of 90 percent of the seabirds tested and 100 percent of the turtles. By comparison, an estimated 46 percent of all pollution in the ocean is made up of lost or abandoned fishing gear (Vox). 6461 garfield street hollywood, fl. Plastic bags. This includes grocery plastic bags, Ziplock-type bags, dry cleaning bags and bread bags. Let us know if you liked this article. Other country that has decided to enforce the country-wide plastic bag ban after suffering of negative consequences was Mauritania. McDonalds swapped its plastic straws for paper at its United Kingdom and Ireland restaurants. Some Disabled People Require Plastic Straws to Drink For some people with disabilities, straws are the only way they can drink. Pack it alongside reusable cutlery (like wood, bamboo, or metal chopsticks) for sustainable eating on the go. 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. Plastic fragments in the ocean such as those from plastic bags can absorb pollutants like PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) easily. Each year on two far-flung Australian islands, more than half a million hermit crabs die after becoming trapped inside our plastic waste. Refineries where crude oil is turned into plastic make up one of the most greenhouse gasintensive industries in the manufacturing sector. It means that most bags can be recycled. It was first invented in 1907 by Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland. Then, you should try to explain your reasons for not wanting your products packed in plastic bags. 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. The majority of this pollutiondominated by single-use plastic wastecomes from countries lacking infrastructure to properly manage waste, particularly in Asia. You can share this article on social media by using the share buttons below. 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. And will a plastic straw ban actually be effective when it comes to saving our oceans and environment? Similar fate has met dolphins, seals, cats, dogs, deer and many other animals which got severely cut on their bodies due to plastic bag entanglement. How Plastic Bottles Become Death Traps for Hermit Crabs. They're bad for the environment, kill marine life and damage human health. Increased awareness about the negative effects of single-use plastics would help the environment a lot more than just a simple plastic straw ban. Is the Tide Turning on Our Plastic Addiction? For most, straws are not a necessity, but a convenience. 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. We produce 300 million tons of plastic each year worldwide, half of which is for single-use items. Will Shifting to Reusable Straws Really Make a Difference? They are also not biodegradable and cannot be broken down naturally by bacteria and other decomposers into non-toxic materials. Buy a metal or bamboo reusable straw. They prevent millions of tons of plastic from entering the waste stream each year. Instead, you are actually reusing a product, and that means that you are utilizing earths resources smartly, while at the same time reducing waste. So that free plastic bag isnt so free after all. An outright ban on plastic straws would create an accessibility problem for disabled people while dining in public. Single-use plastics are most commonly used for packaging and serviceware, such as bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags. 2. Plastic pollutionwhether in our oceans, piling up on our coastlines, or contributing to our climate crisisimpacts vulnerable communities first. Criddle has evaluated use of microorganisms to biodegrade plastic materials and to synthesize biodegradable bioplastics from waste feedstocks. Or you may need to accept that plastic bag this time and then start campaigning for a plastic bag ban in your area . These steps are pretty straight forward and depend on your own initiative. The upshot of the Sydney study is that the California bag ban reduced plastic bag consumption by 71.5% - a huge decrease. Stanford experts discuss the limitations of these bans and the potential for meaningful change. 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]. Most of it is either dumped in landfills or ends up in the ocean. Criddle and Leape are also senior fellows at theStanford Woods Institute for the Environment. According to estimates made by scientists, there are 7.5 million polluting straws around the shores of the United States, and anywhere from 437 million to 8.3 billion plastic straws throughout the coastlines of the rest of the globe. But should plastic straws really be banned? Thus, plastic straws cant be recycled. Since the 1950s, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics have been produced, and half of that in the past 15 years alone. Consumer outrage about the plastics crisis is already commanding attention from big companies and from many governments. Some experts estimate that more than 1 million sea animals are killed each year by straws and other types of plastic trash. Well, lets have a look at the most important reasons why single-use plastic bags should be banned right now. This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as time and place elements, style, and grammar); you cant resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you cant republish our material wholesale or automaticallyyou need to select stories individually; you can't republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when youve used one of our stories. The first answer to this question that comes to everyones mind is to stop using plastic bags, right? Exposure to microplastics, as well as the chemicals that are added to plastics during processing, harm our health. 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. 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. The first country to ban single-use plastic bags was Bangladesh in 2002 when plastic bag litter clogged drainage channels and contributed to destructive floods. This measure should encourage people to switch to reusable alternatives. In New York, 23 billion plastic bags are used by residents each year. At the beginning of July 2018, Seattle became the largest U.S. city to ban plastic straws. The crucial challenge is to ensure that these bans are just a first step. Due to its chemistry, nothing in nature can make plastic biodegrade. There are numerous reasons why PLA straws are not the right substitute for plastic straws . Many of the chemicals in plastics are known endocrine disruptors,and research has suggested that human exposure could cause health impacts including hormonal imbalances, reproductive problems like infertility, and even cancer. PLASTIC STRAWS CANT BE BROKEN DOWN BY NATURE. They suspect that it may add stress on the liver by introducing more pathogens into the body. 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. No! 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. Quick Navigation for Reasons Why Plastic Shopping Bags Should Be Banned, [1] https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/25496/singleUsePlastic_sustainability.pdf, [2] https://www.eco-business.com/opinion/getting-rid-of-plastic-bags-a-windfall-for-supermarkets-but-it-wont-do-much-for-the-environment/, [3] https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2018/04/09/plastic-chokes-dhakas-drainage/, [4] https://1bagatatime.com/learn/plastic-bags-petroleum/, [5] https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2935417&page=1, [6] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-waste-pollution-trash-crisis/, [7] https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124006/pdf, [8] https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/rare-sea-turtles-eating-plastic-at-record-rate, [9] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cobi.12126, [10] http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=934, [11] http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2008/12/plastic-bags-and-animals-making-the-wild-safe-for-wildlife/, [12] http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6374/460, [13] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/22/microplastics-found-in-human-stools-for-the-first-time, [14] https://1bagatatime.com/learn/plastic-bag-clean-costs/, [15] http://www.bagmonster.com/2010/04/the-true-cost-of-single-use-bags.html, [16] http://www.cep.unep.org/cep-documents/unep-press-release-on-the-effects-of-plastic-waste-on-marine-ecosystems.pdf, [17] https://greentumble.com/can-plastic-bags-be-recycled/, [18] https://1bagatatime.com/learn/plastic-bag-clean-costs/, [19] https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-many-countries-are-in-the-world.html, [20] https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/25496/singleUsePlastic_sustainability.pdf.

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