The Impact of the Movement to Ban Plastic Straws: Environmental Solutions and Controversies

Many people have found it difficult to drink drinks they ordered at a coffee shop or fast food restaurant because they came with a paper straw rather than a plastic straw. Why have disposable plastic straws suddenly emerged as an environmental problem, and what is the impact?

A large movement to ban the use of plastic straws arose because of a video posted on August 10, 2015. A marine conservation biologist encountered something clogged in the nose of a sea turtle he encountered while collecting data for his doctoral degree off the coast of Costa Rica. When I pulled out the object blocking my nostril with pliers, blood came out and an old straw came out. In the commentary, it is said that it is hard to believe that something commonly used in daily life got into the turtle’s nose, and that it must have caused great pain.

This video resonated and developed into a social campaign to stop suctioning (#stopsucking) and a movement to turn plastic straws into environmentally damaging enemies. The movement quickly spread as many restaurants followed suit. In 2018, Seattle became the first U.S. city to ban plastic straws, followed by California, New Jersey, and Florida. Moreover, in line with the trend against plastic straws, companies such as Starbucks and American Airlines announced that Starbucks would reduce the use of plastic straws by 1 billion annually by introducing drinking lids for cold drinks by 2020.

The movement to eliminate plastic straws has succeeded in generating outrage over plastic pollution, but its effectiveness is questionable. For example, it is reported that plastic straws account for 0.025% of the 8 million tons of plastic discarded annually in the world’s oceans.

Some people working on the overall plastic issue call the straw ban movement slacktivism, while others criticize it as a movement for their own people without dedication or effort. According to these people, the movement to ban plastic straws was aimed at creating an exaggerated sense that they had made a difference in fighting the plastic problem.

For example, the lid that Starbucks decided to introduce is made of polypropylene, a type of plastic. Starbucks positions this introduction as an improvement because it is easier to recycle than plastic straws, which are too thin to be recycled, but the polypropylene recycling rate in the United States is only 3%.

Disabled groups are also raising voices opposing the movement to exclude plastic straws. Some people with disabilities need flexible straws to drink liquids, so paper straws that quickly become a mess, metal straws that are difficult to bend, or silicone straws that are difficult to clean are no substitute.

Among the companies that have chosen to continue providing disposable straws, some are using straws made from 100% biodegradable natural materials such as bamboo and wheat, but due to the high cost, many companies have turned to bioplastic straws. Bioplastics are compostable plastics made from non-petroleum resources such as corn and sugarcane. However, according to the paper container manufacturer (SOFi Paper Products), in order for bioplastics to decompose effectively, they must be treated and disposed of in an appropriate manner.

Many companies want to adopt sustainable practices, but unless the government strictly regulates them, companies can use greenwash strategies that only care about the environment, making it difficult to distinguish between truly sustainable choices and those that are not. .

The movement to ban plastic straws is still active in 2023, and many governments and local governments are adopting it in their policies one by one, but it is said that attention to the anti-plastic movement is already fading away. The reason is that it is no longer a new movement as it has become commonplace for many people to not have plastic straws.

Instead, supporters of the anti-plastic movement point out that they are trying to harness the anger that plastic straws once stirred in a new way. In the United States, states such as California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon, and Vermont ban plastic shopping bags. In addition, it is said that activities to remove the packaging of products purchased at supermarkets or grocery stores and dispose of the resulting waste at the store are being carried out in various parts of the world, including Korea, Hong Kong, Canada, Peru, and the United States.

One expert explains that activities targeting plastic straws had the effect of raising people’s environmental awareness. Related information: this placeYou can check it here.

2023-12-16 03:00:21
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