This petition is to demand the banning of plastic straws at a local beach-front restaurant called The Back Porch, in Destin FL. This specific beach is littered with hundreds of green straws everyday. Although they are using “Vio biodegradeable straws”, research has shown these specific straws still take 7 YEARS to break down, and even then they aren’t fulled decomposed. Plastic straws alone are responsible for killing and harming our marine life, not to mention filling our oceans with garbage. Plastic straws break down into microplastics, which are ingested by marine life who mistake it for food. It’s estimated that up to 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles end up ingesting plastic into their stomach. Additionally, an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic enter our water every year! Although no straws are the best option, paper straws are fully biodegradable and compostable. If they do end up in the ocean, they’ll start to break down within just three days, and will be completely gone within just 6 months. So 6 months, compared to 7 YEARS! Ultimately, I wish it was as easy as asking people to dispose of their straws versus trashing the beach. However, even if everyone abided and did so, which we all know will never happen, our landfills are still being over filled with toxic plastic!

As one of the most popular restaurants on the Emerald Coast, I am calling on The Back Porch to make the switch to paper straws. This is such a small and simple way to reduce waste on our beaches and conserve our oceans. 

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