By 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish, according to a report by the World Economic Forum. If we don't act now, we'll be seeing a lot more of this and this. (Warning: GRAPHIC CONTENT) With so many alternatives to plastic available, it's frankly ridiculous to me how we still use plastic on a daily basis. In fact, unless you have some sort of disability (in which case you should probably carry around a reusable straw), there's really no reason you need a straw. Also, plastic straws can last HUNDREDS OF YEARS. Just think: that straw you used to drink that milkshake last week is going to OUTLIVE YOU. Years after you die, that plastic straw will still be around wreaking havoc to the environment. And that goes for plastic cutlery too! Single-use utensils can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. 

California already has measures in place to prevent restaurants from giving out plastic straws. Why not let that measure extent to schools too? In the cafeteria when I buy lunch, I get a plastic spork and a plastic straw ALL WRAPPED IN A PLASTIC BAG. Seriously?! If 100 kids buy lunch every day at my school, that's 3 pieces of plastic trash per person, totaling out to 300 pieces of plastic waste, most of which will end up in landfills or the ocean. And that's just the amount of plastic that would be used in ONE DAY! If this trend continues every day for the entire school year, that totals up to... wait for it... 54,000 PIECES OF PLASTIC. And that's just for one school!

If each one of the 10,588 schools in California has 100 students that buy lunch every day for the entire school year (~180 days), that adds up to 571,752,000 PIECES OF PLASTIC PER YEAR. 

Here are some important facts:

• Plastic bags can last 20+ years before decomposing
• Plastic straws can last 200+ years before decomposing
• Plastic cutlery can last 1,000+ years before decomposing
• By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean
• A whale died due to ingesting more than 88 pounds of plastic (read about it here)
• Researchers have found that sea turtles are attracted to plastic and often mistake it as food due to its smell (read more here)
• Every minute, the equivalent of one truck full of plastic is dumped into the sea (have you been reading this petition for a minute? Boom. One truck full of plastic.)
• Every year, an estimated 18 billion pounds of plastic is dumped into the ocean
• The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an island of trash twice the size of Texas (read more here)
• Microplastics eaten by fish enter our food chain when we eat things like sushi
• Toxic chemicals leach into our water from plastic water bottles (more info here)
• Humans already ingest around a credit card's worth of plastic every week (more on that here)

As you can see, this is a huge problem that will affect everyone in the WORLD. If we don't act now, soon it'll be too late. We're already ingesting a credit card every week. Imagine how bad it'll get in the future! 

PROOF THAT WE CAN DO THIS: Here is a CASE STUDY that not only proves this is better for the environment, it also proves that it's more cost-efficient!

Summary of their findings:

As a result of the switch to reusable items, the schools:

• prevented 6,712 pounds of trash
• expect to save $23,000 over three years

And that’s not all. The environmental footprint of manufacturing the stainless steel reusable utensils:

• reduced greenhouse gases by 77%
• water consumption by tens of thousands of gallons

I'm asking Gavin Newsom and the California Board of Education to switch to more more sustainable alternatives to disposable plastics, such as biodegradable, reusable, and plant-based materials. Ideally, switching to reusables would be best, but as there are concerns about the virus right now, perhaps we could start with a plant-based or biodegradable alternative. Please sign my petition today so we can make it happen!