Sipping to Understand
After my post last week addressing plastic bags in their role in pollution, I’m sure you saw this week’s post coming from an ocean away. One study published in 2017 estimated as many as 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute the world's beaches (Geyer, Jambeck, & Law, 2017). This staggering estimation doesn’t even cover the estimated amount of plastic drifting in the oceans, or even anywhere else in the environment; just on the shorelines. The most popular single-use alternative to plastic so far has been paper straws, which aren’t necessarily better, unfortunately. Though they are still pretty inexpensive, paper straws can cost 1 to 1.5 pennies more than their plastic counterparts according to media sources. They also require wood in order to be made, which has a cost in sustainability with deforestation. Reusable metal or bamboo straws are an ideal alternative because of their recyclable and sustainable materials, respectively, but the prices can, again, add up. In 2018, Starbucks launched a worldwide effort that cost $10 million to rethink the way they approach the use of straws (Starbucks, 2018). The coffee giant declared that they would be working to develop an alternative recyclable lid style that would eliminate the need for a plastic straw for iced drinks, and would focus on an alternative material for straws that other drinks (such as the highly coveted Frappuccino) would require. Eliminating the need for straws is, obviously, the most affordable and sustainable option available., but we have become dependent on the convenience they provide.
Since their rise to popularity in the 1960’s (Gibbens, 2019), straws have seemingly become an essential part of our approach to modern beverage consumption. The slim and durable apparatus makes hydrating as simple as raising a glass to your lips, no tilting or spilling involved, and even helps to prevent dark liquids from staining your teeth, according to legend. Plastic straws cost less than a penny to produce, and can easily be tossed into a bin when the drink is finished. Some are dependent on the tool because of a disability and have a difficult time addressing their values of protecting the environment as the concerns grow in common knowledge. After spending decades becoming accustomed to using straws, giving them up seems to be an overwhelming thought. What alternatives can we explore, if we can’t face the idea of touching our lips to our glasses? Many companies produce reusable straws made from harder plastics, metal, or even bamboo. The cost of these straws far outweighs the half-penny a single-use straw supposedly costs, but the long-term benefits of making such an investment can have an economic impact all its own. If we were to completely halt the production and use of plastic straws right now, and ban their use going forward, we could be preventing 500 million straws from being discarded daily in the U.S. alone, according to a study conducted by the National Park Service (Gibbens, 2019). Imagine the cost of having to find a way to address that rate of noncompostable waste 20 years from now, if all 500 million of those U.S. straws ended up on a beach each day in that time?
In 2015, the dangers of plastic straw pollution went viral when a video circulated the internet of a turtle with a straw lodged in its nose. Environmentalists and animal activists were devastated at the footage, as were consumers across the globe who watched interveners struggling to remove the straw with a pair of pliers. Though the turtle was fortunate to have been rescued, the concerns grew worldwide over the impacts that plastic pollution was having on marine life. Public outrage inspired a movement that helped to facilitate the development of the reusable straws we see in stores today and really launched the conversations about plastic pollution in the oceans.
I imagine that you realize where I am going with our collaborative call to action this week, advocate. As you plan your hydration needs for the week, consider observing your choice of tool in getting that liquid into your mouth. If you prefer or need a straw, can you consider using a straw that was developed to be used again and again? Can you accept the necessary maintenance in keeping such a device clean and ready for reuse as you think about your beverage choices going forward? Or can you try to limit your straw use entirely? There are a lot of ways people theorize that we humans came to be such an integrated part of this planet, but one thing is for sure: we have lips that are perfectly capable of drinking just as they are. Stay hydrated, advocate.
In the fifth habit discussed in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey discusses an approach to problem-solving and cooperation by, "Seeking first to understand, then to be understood" (Covey, 2020). It is my desire and intention to serve your needs as a member of our planet, and a cooperative in ensuring its protection and preservation. So that I can understand your habits, please consider taking the brief survey I have attached below, followed by two videos that demonstrate the impacts of single-use plastic straws on the environment as well as one nation's environmental goals going forward.
References
Geyer, R., Jambeck, J. R., & Law, K. L. (2017). Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made. Science Advances, 3(7). doi:10.1126/sciadv.1700782
Gibbens, S. (2019, January 03). A brief history of how plastic straws took over the world. Retrieved February 16, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/07/news-plastic-drinking-straw-history-ban/#:~:text=In%20just%20the%20U.S.%20alone,straws%20pollute%20the%20world%27s%20beaches.&text=Eight%20million%20tons%20of%20plastic,just%200.025%20percent%20of%20that.
Starbucks. (2018, July 9). Starbucks to eliminate plastic straws globally by 2020. Retrieved from https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-to-eliminate-plastic-straws-globally-by-2020/#:~:text=SEATTLE%3B%20July%209%2C%202018%20%E2%80%93,options%20available%2C%20around%20the%20world
Media Sources
Meis, S. (2009). Straws [Photograph]. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/6UMPKz
South China’s Morning Post. (2020, Dec 24). China’s New Year’s resolution: bans on plastic
straws, plates, non-biodegradable plastic bags [Video]. Youtube. (134) China’s New
Year’s resolution: bans on plastic straws, plates, non-biodegradable plastic bags - YouTube
USA Today. (2018, May 29). Here's how little plastic straws are wrecking our oceans [Video].
Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCwtlzABUpY
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