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Low rated: 2. Only then would a plastic straw ban be able to actually help preserve the environment. 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. This includes grocery plastic bags, Ziplock-type bags, dry cleaning bags and bread bags. LEAPE:Plastic straws are only a tiny fraction of the problem less than 1 percent. The small pilot whale, found in a Thai canal this past June, is another symptom of a crisis in the worlds oceans. According to the researchers, the turtle likely mistook the straw for food and swallowed it. According to the findings of a study that was carried out in 2019 by students at the University of Washington, 78 percent of respondents used straws made of biodegradable materials that are in compliance with the prohibition, and 68 percent used utensils that are in compliance with the ban. Put simply, single-use plastics are goods that are made primarily from fossil fuelbased chemicals (petrochemicals) and are meant to be disposed of right after useoften, in mere minutes. This is due to the fact that the plastic tubes are far too lightweight to be recycled in an efficient manner. But beyond these impacts, the bans have cultural effects. About half the cost of making biodegradable polymers is the cost of feedstock. 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. There are definitely differing opinions on whether or not plastic straws should be banned. O This requires the usage of 500 million straws, Straws and other items made of plastic are harmful, Every day in the United States. Criddle and Leape are also senior fellows at theStanford Woods Institute for the Environment. We are working hard to improve our content. Straws don't provide as much utility as bags, so for many this is an easy adjustment. Well, a possible alternative solution could be to encourage businesses to only give out plastic straws on request. (Some places are going so far as to ban single-use plastics entirely; most notably, India intends to go this route by 2022.) Many of you may have heard it already. Plastics bags are not so much necessary that man cannot live without it. Unfortunately, such costs are typically not included in most economic analyses, as they are not easy to calculate because the equation would have to involve many indirect variables. All rights reserved. Paper straws cost on average around 2.5 cents ($0.025), whereas plastic straws cost only half a cent ($0.005). . And Starbucks, which uses an estimated one billion plastic straws per year, is phasing them out in favor of paper ones. Buy a metal or bamboo reusable straw. Spare Yourself the Guilt Trip This Earth DayIts Companies That Need to Clean Up Their Acts, These Fanciful Sea Creatures Were Carried in on the Tide. In Ireland, where this fee was instituted in 2002, plastic bag usage decreased by about 90 percent. Additionally, plastics in our digestive tract may affect absorption of some important trace elements (like iron) which we need for maintaining proper health [13]. China 10 Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned Manufacturers, Supply 10 Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned with High Quality, Wholesale 10 Reasons Why Plastic Straws Should Be Banned with Low Price, High Quality. Plastic bags and plastic products overall contain substances that are harmful to our health. 2. 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. The second, more fundamental imperative is to get plastics out of our waste stream. How? That's a whole 900 tons of plastic waste produced every day, and that's just for plastic straws! 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. In this article, Ill go over both the pros and cons of a plastic straw ban. 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. LEAPE:Microplastics pervade the oceans. Instead, you are actually reusing a product, and that means that you are utilizing earths resources smartly, while at the same time reducing waste. 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. Some experts estimate that more than 1 million sea animals are killed each year by straws and other types of plastic trash. These costs include the true environmental costs of resource extraction and depletion, the loss of quality of life, economic loss from littering, and wildlife loss. We produce 300 million tons of plastic each year worldwide, half of which is for single-use items. 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. Ill also go over whether or not plastic straw bans will actually help the environment, and explain everything else youll need to know. Do you wonder why? Stanford experts discuss the limitations of these bans and the potential for meaningful change. Plastic bag bansideally accompanied by a fee on paper bagsare also catching on. The crucial challenge is to ensure that these bans are just a first step, offering a natural place to start with low-hanging fruit so long as its part of a much more fundamental shift away from single-use plastics across the value chains of these companies and our economy. It is possible to enhance ones risk of developing cavities by using a straw while consuming liquids that are either sweet or acidic. Harmful to human health 6. Car Modifications for Electric Vehicles: Whats Possible. You could either discuss with a store manager a possibility of bringing your own containers for these products. Is the Tide Turning on Our Plastic Addiction? But only a few of us realize that each time we accept those disposable plastic grocery bags at store checkout, we actively participate in wasting energy and depleting non-renewable resources. Instead of searching for another buyer, maybe some soul-searching is in order. This blog covers a variety of topics including plastic pollution, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and much more. And the recent fracking boom, resulting in a surplus of oil, is fueling a subsequent rise in cracker plants, too. This measure should encourage people to switch to reusable alternatives. its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. India, for example, generates 25,940 tons of plastic waste every day but collects only 60 percent of it. They discovered that Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestl products were found most often. China doesnt want our plastic waste anymore. Sugar and oils are too expensive. Refineries where crude oil is turned into plastic make up one of the most greenhouse gasintensive industries in the manufacturing sector. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Getting rid of a single plastic straw may not have a very large effect on the environment. Recently, however, plastic straws have been the subject of many plastic bans in an attempt to help the environment. 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. Have a look yourself to imagine the suffering of these animals. Made from fossil fuels 3. Actress Nina Nelson and other celebrities made a video claiming that plastic. The answer isnt as simple as you may think: While its true that paper straws arent as harmful as plastic straws, this doesnt mean that, Read More Paper vs. Tushy Ace Review (After 3 Months): Is this Luxury Bidet Worth it? Exposure to microplastics, as well as the chemicals that are added to plastics during processing, harm our health. The people of Macon, Georgia, saw through it. Single-use plastics are most commonly used for packaging and serviceware, such as bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags. . These pieces can be so small that they are invisible to our eye. Plastic bags being the major component of the trash thrown away, most of it ends up on the streets. Es gratis registrarse y presentar tus propuestas laborales. This type of plastic is derived from petroleum. Lizzie Carr is shining a light on what is floating through the worlds waterways, and breaking athletic records along the way. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Better alternatives are available 10. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Summary: Reduce your use of single-use plastics. We all know what the debate is between plastic and paper straws but paper straws are horrible they will immediately break apart in your mouth and feel horrible. This means that you need to first educate yourself about the problem. Forty years after the launch of the first universal recycling symbol, only 14 percent of plastic packaging is recycled. How can you help to ban plastic bags in your area? Because of this, the plants and wildlife in the area have a potential risk of absorbing the microplastics through their diets and drinking water. Alarmingly, scientists estimate that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight in 2050. Companies are trying to sell communities on a toxic solution to the plastic pollution crisis. Plastic straws are one of the most common forms of pollution found on beaches and in oceans all over the world. In countries with a lack of awareness about negative impacts of plastic bags, a polite refusal might not be met with much understanding. We've all become too hooked on the availability and comfort of the stuff. 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. Plastic straws only account for roughly one percent of the total amount of waste plastic found in the ocean. Fortunately, microorganisms can also use cheap, renewable substrates, such as food wastes, biogas methane, carbon dioxide and renewable hydrogen. Plastic, in general, is one of the biggest pollutants in the world. Although single-use plastic pollution accumulates most visibly on our streets, in fact our water suffers even more. 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. They are a part of our modern lives, and we dont tend to think much about them. The phthalate DEHP, as just one example from dozens, is often added to plastic goods like shower curtains and garden hoses to make them more flexiblebut was also found to be a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Do you also have that overflowing kitchen drawer full of plastic bags you bring from your shopping trips? About; Disability Vote Blog; Organizer's Forum; Issues; News; NDLA Webinars