Single Use Plastic
Without thinking, most people in the modern world grab the straw out of the receptacle, tear off or blow off the sanitary paper covering, stick it in their beverage and suck until there is nothing left. After they're done they toss the whole container in the garbage or if they're conscious of recycling programs, place the straw in the plastic recycling bin. Little do we know that most straws are not recyclable. So after less than 2 minutes that straw has completed its useful duty and is off into the world. Little do we know that it will continue on for at least 100 years as it continues breaking down into micro-plastic that will be consumed over and over again as it works its way up the food chain. In America, we use 500,000,000 (that's 5 hundred million) straws per day.
Solutions
Non-Profits
So now that we know enough to know that this is not good for the world, what do we do? There are many amazing projects taken on by a number of non-profits. For example, the Surfrider Foundation Portland Chapter's Ditchthestrawpdx movement in Portland, Oregon where one of the major goals is to convince local businesses to offer an alternative to plastic straws or have straws available only on request.
Corporate Giants
Starbucks recently made the news announcing their intention to go straw-free by 2020. With this one move, Starbucks is reporting this will eliminate 1 billion straws per year from entering the ocean. This will hopefully continue the trend for other corporate giants to make moves to help the environment.
Go Plastic Free
To go along with the amazing programs working with legislation and local restaurants is the reinvention or reemergence of the plastic-free straw. During our Plastic Free Journey we have used metal, paper and bamboo straws exclusively and have enjoyed the change. Making our drinks taste colder and better with no worries about adding to the count of plastic straws. If you are interested in our collection of plastic-free alternative straws or lids check them out here.
Moving Forward
We have hit the wall with our plastic consumption. Either we change how we live and consume or we run the risk of the point of no return with our oceans and rivers too full of plastic for life to exist. If you live in any part of the world this matters to you. Plastic is here to stay and we need an innovation as unique as plastic to solve the problem. In the meantime, if you can look into alternatives to single use as a baby step toward Going Plastic Free, you are definitely moving in the right direction.
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