My name is Meredith, I am 7 years old, I recently saw a talk by Blowfish explaining the effects of plastic waste in our oceans. Plastic straws make up a huge amount of the waste that is damaging sea life. Plastic waste in the sea is degraded slightly by the sun, small particles drift down and hang in the water, these get eaten by sea life causing damage and death. Phytoplankton cannot reproduce or survive in these conditions. Phytoplankton produce oxygen that is essential for our planet so we need to protect them. If plastic straws weren't freely available it would be much better for the environment. If a big company like McDonalds could lead the way then others might follow. We need to take action now to protect the future.