A little bite of waste multiplied by a whole lot of people, really adds up. At an average rate, Americans use 1.6 straws a day, or 584 a year, according to the National Parks Service. Nationwide, that’s 500 million drinking straws thrown away every day — enough straws to fill about 46,400 school buses each year.
Environmental groups have targeted disposable drinking straws — that are not recyclable or compostable — for extinction. The ultimate goal: Prevent non-degradable plastic straws from polluting our beaches, waterways and oceans.
It’s estimated that by the year 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish.
With so many other pollution problems, why straws?
“Straws are an easy thing for everybody to get started on when approaching the enormous issue of plastic pollution,” said Diana Lofflin, founder of StrawFree.org, an environmental group based in southern California.
Lofflin said she realized something had to be done after seeing the video of a Costa Rican team removing a straw from a turtle’s nose.
“We’re seeing more plastic in our waterways and one of the most common items we find is straws,” she said. “In fact, it’s one of the top 10 items that are picked up at beach cleanups. It’s estimated that by the year 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish.”
Lawmakers in Los Angeles, Davis, Malibu and San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Miami Beach and Fort Myers Beach, Fla.; and Seattle, have passed ordinances that limit or prohibit restaurants from using plastic straws.
A ban on plastic straws for commercial use took effect in Fort Myers Beach in February. The town’s environmental specialists, who patrol the beaches, report seeing fewer straws in the sand, and most of the ones they do find are biodegradable, Town Manager Roger Hernstadt told NBC News BETTER.
The ordinance does create penalties: $100 for a first offense, $500 for three or more citations within a year, but Hernstadt hopes education and warnings will be all that’s needed.
To read the full story, visit https://www.wxxv25.com/2018/04/22/want-to-be-more-green-say-no-to-plastic-straws/.