More and more countries or large retailers are banning plastic straws. Unfortunately bans alone won’t change much, what we need is a global social movement! Luckily, plastic straws are quickly becoming a dining taboo, here’s why:
Less than 9% of all of the plastic we use every day gets recycled.
Instead, most end up in landfills or worst case scenario: in the ocean. That problem won’t be fixed by saying ‘no’ to plastic straws, but from what environmentalists say letting go of a single piece of plastic could be the first step in a much-needed larger behavioral change.
In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a first-of-its-kind bill aimed at reducing straw waste in the state. Starting in 2019, sit-down restaurants in the Golden State won’t serve any drinks with straws, unless customers ask for them.
California recently became the first state to nix plastic straws from restaurant tables. Starting in 2019, customers in that state will have to ask if they want to use a straw. Plastic straw bans are going into effect around the US, UK, and the European Union who both have their own plastic ban proposals in the works.
Corporate bans are also quickly gaining momentum as large companies like Aramark, American Airlines and Starbucks are vowing to stop offering plastic straws. Starbucks has decided to get its iconic green sippers completely off store shelves by 2020, while Seattle banned all plastic utensils, including straws, from bars and businesses city-wide in July.
The truth is that straws are just the tip of the trash heap when it comes to plastic waste. At the same time the fight’s got to start somewhere. Because plastics have been designed to be used for a very short amount of time, and then be tossed away, banning straws become a symbol of a larger movement.
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