Environmental Effect of Plastic Straws

Plastic straws contribute significantly to the world’s tremendous waste problem. Every day, an estimated 500 million single-use plastic straws are used in the United States, while 25.3 billion are used in Europe. 

So what happens once the straws have been used and discarded? Because they are so little in diameter, they avoid shredding and end up in our ocean entirely. 

According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, around 71% of sea birds and 30% of turtles have plastic in their bellies, which can be lethal. 

Although plastic goods became readily available to customers in the 1950s, it is only in the last twenty years that we have witnessed a significant increase in plastic – and thus, plastic garbage. 

According to one groundbreaking study of plastic manufacture, less than 1% of our waste in the 1960s was plastic; by 2005, it had climbed to 10%. 

Concerns have grown in recent years about the growing number of single-use plastic objects that are becoming a part of our daily life. One of these items is the plastic drinking straw, of which billions are distributed each year at cafés and restaurants or as part of takeaway meals. 

This essay will take a candid look at how plastic straws influence the ecosystem in four critical ways, with a focus on our seas and marine life. We’ll also discuss how new environmentally friendly drinking straw alternatives are becoming available, which can aid in the reduction of plastic waste and the cleaning of our rivers. 

1. Plastic straws do not degrade 

What is the environmental impact of plastic straws? The first issue is that, unlike natural materials like paper, wood, or cotton, the polypropylene used in the production of most single-use plastic straws is not biodegradable. This implies that when plastic straws end up in a landfill, little organisms like insects or bacteria cannot break them down by eating them. 

Instead, over a period of up to 200 years, the straws will simply disintegrate, eventually breaking into smaller and smaller particles called microplastics. As plastic degrades, it emits hazardous compounds such as bisphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to environmental pollution and health issues. 

2. It is difficult to recycle plastic straws 

Plastic straws are not only non-biodegradable, but they are also difficult to recycle once we’ve stopped using them. Just 9% of the 8,300 million metric tons of plastic ever created has been recycled. Furthermore, polypropylene plastic straws are classified as category 5, which is much less typically recycled. 

As a result, consumers have difficulty finding recycling facilities for straws, and local councils or authorities refuse to pick them up from the curb. Furthermore, even if plastic straws are approved for recycling, they are so little and light that they are frequently sorted out at mechanized recycling plants and discarded. 

3. Pollution from plastic straws in our oceans and waterways 

Placing plastic straws in landfills to slowly decompose is not an environmentally beneficial approach. But, the reality is that used plastic straws regularly end up in a far worse place: our oceans. Each year, an estimated 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean, with 1.15-2.41 tons of it carried there by main rivers around the world. 

Plastic straws are especially prone to ending up in our rivers. For starters, straws are a significant component of beach litter, with straws being identified as the seventh most recovered item in one large-scale beach litter collection. Because plastic straws are small and light, the wind routinely blows them out of garbage cans, trash vehicles, and landfill sites. They will then find their way to watercourses and be swept into the sea. 

Finally, straws, like other small plastic items, can be consumed by birds scavenging at landfills. Because the straws do not biodegrade, they remain in the bird’s stomach until death. The bird biodegrades, allowing the plastic straw to be blown or washed into rivers in the same manner as previously. 

Once in the ocean, plastic straws can combine with other plastic garbage to form massive floating heaps on the ocean’s surface. There is the largest of these “plastic islands,” covering an area of 1.6 million square kilometers between California and Hawaii called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 

The debris can block sunlight from reaching algae and plankton beneath the sea, preventing them from converting the light into essential nutrients. When algae and plankton numbers are imperiled, the entire marine food system suffers. Eventually, this may result in fewer fish available to humans. 

Plastic straws may be small, but when we use billions of them each year, they contribute significantly to plastic debris in our oceans. In fact, scientists are predicting that if we continue to allow plastic into the ocean at the current rate, there will be more plastic (by weight) in the ocean by 2050 than fish. 

4. Plastic straws are hazardous to marine life

Of course, such a large amount of plastic debris entering our seas must have a negative influence on marine and coastal fauna that lives in and near the water. It is estimated that ocean plastic pollution affects approximately 800 distinct species and that at least 100,000 marine mammals die each year as a result of plastic trash. 

Plastic straws that end up in the water are especially dangerous to wildlife because their small size makes them easier for birds, mammals, and larger fish to consume. Although it is impossible to quantify the impact of plastic straws alone, it is estimated that 90% of seabirds have consumed some form of plastic from the water and that by 2050, 99% of species may be affected. If a large amount of plastic is consumed, a marine bird or mammal may starve to death. Due to feeling the weight in its stomach, it assumes it has eaten and is unmotivated to find food. 

Entanglement in plastic waste is another major issue for marine life. A video of a group of marine researchers removing a portion of plastic straw from a sea turtle’s nostril went viral in 2015. This film stunned millions of viewers and raised awareness about the hazards of plastic pollution, contributing credence to initiatives to eliminate single-use plastic straws entirely. 

Plastic straws, as previously discussed, break down into smaller bits over time, making them simpler for fish to consume. In this way, plastic enters the food chain and may eventually be swallowed by people. Further research is needed to determine how many people have these microplastics in their bodies and whether this has any long-term health consequences. 

An environmentally acceptable solution to the plastic straw dilemma 

Countries and states all over the world are taking steps to ban or limit single-use plastics and clean up our environment. At the time of writing, California, Oregon, and Hawaii have plastic bans in place, while the European Union has set a 2021 deadline to phase out single-use plastics. 

The days of throwaway plastic straws are numbered, and in their place, more environmentally friendly alternatives are emerging. Reusable straws made of stainless steel or glass are available for purchase. Businesses (such as food and beverage firms) that still want to provide their consumers the choice of a disposable straw with their product are increasingly turning to biodegradable paper straws, and even better, straws produced from farm waste such as bamboo, coconut shells, and avocado pits. 

These positive changes are a hopeful indicator that the issue of plastic straws and their environmental impact may soon be a thing of the past. Now it’s time to be conscious of our environment and clean up our oceans, assist marine creatures, and leave our beaches in pristine condition for future generations to enjoy. 

Final Word

Nonetheless, you can always say “no” to plastic straws when dining out or driving through fast food restaurants. 

Let us endeavor to limit our use of one plastic item per day.