An astounding 500 million straws are used in the USA each day, which means 127 school buses daily and approximately 46,400 school buses filled with straws annually pollution in oceans and our land. Plastic straw pollution might not seem as big trouble due to its weight and size. Still,scientists have estimated 7.5 million plastic straws lying around the USA’s shorelines and accumulating to 8.3 billion plastic straws worldwide. Disposable plastic has become an accepted issue by governments worldwide, and many are trying to control it through different measures, but is it enough? And is it at the pace we need?
Plastic Straw Ban & its After-Effects
One of the most significant leaps was taken in 2010 when Seattle became the first major American city to ban plastic straw and utensils resulting in a 50% fall in residential plastic waste and a 75% fall in industrial plastic waste in the next four years. Indeed, this ban has made a significant contribution to reduce plastic straw pollution in the state.
Similarly, California has also strictly banned plastic bags. Moreover, Kenyan government has made it official to face four years in prison for anyone caught with a plastic bag, which is officially the toughest deterrent for plastic bags.
Following the lead, Pakistan has also banned plastic bags in megastores in 2020. There are efforts made at the state level by different countries that will ultimately encourage people to find plastic alternatives and discard single-use plastic from their daily lives.
User-Friendly Alternatives That Can Pave The Way
It’s easy to say let’s do something but seldom do we find people who would help us find useful alternatives to live life without plastic. It’s not a secret that plastic is accessible and cheap, but how do we go about to live the same life of convenience without spending a lot of money?
First of all, the plastic straw is not that difficult to give up. After all, people drank water and beer without a straw when it didn’t exist. Also, in states where it is banned, people still go to clubs and have a good time.
So, life doesn’t depend on a plastic straw if I may say so. I also have a steel straw in my bag all the time in case I need it. Most of the time, me and my friends go straw-free for our drinks and keep a reusable bottle where we never need a straw.
On all of my business and private parties, I have strictly banned straws. For instance, once I organized kids’ activities at my home for straw making competition, which turned out to be entertaining activity for children during lockdown. It was about creating colorful handmade straws from paper and compostable material. Not only did this activity bring children together for some time out of school but it also generated a sense of responsibility in them to participate in creating a better world for the generations to come.
Let’s start raising responsible children, for they are the future of this planet!
