“The Last Straw!” Greenpeace.org. Greenpeace. July 2018

Help make a difference by signing this petition to Andrew Wheeler, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States, to issue a regulation banning plastic straws. As the head of the United States Federal Government’s Environmental Protection Agency, Andrew Wheeler, is responsible for enforcing the nation’s clean water and clean air acts. The Environmental Protection Agency has the power to issue regulations and enforce them. A regulation on plastic straws would complement the Clean Water Act, which is an existing statute that regulates point sources of pollution such as industrial facilities. A ban on plastic straws would be an essential addition to The United States pollution control strategies.

If the United States were to pass a law banning the distribution and use of plastic straws, there would be a significant decrease of plastic that ends up in our landfills and oceans. A ban on plastic straws would drastically improve our planet by reducing the size of our environmental footprint. It is important to understand the pollution and harm caused by plastic straws. Straws are an item of convenience and its use has become a daily habit for most Americans. According to “The Last Plastic Straw,” Americans use more than 500 million straws each day, which eventually end up in the ocean causing pollution and killing the wildlife. 

According to Gaelle Gourmelon, the author of “Nourishing the Planet,” plastic straws are created from polypropylene, which is derived from petroleum. The creation of plastic is horrible for the environment as oil, electricity, and gas extraction is required for the process. More gas is then required to ship materials and deliver straws to customers. This transportation process creates a significant amount of carbon emission and pollution into the environment. Once the products are used they are then discarded of and end up in our ocean.

Plastic straws are not biodegradable and this is the reason why they remain on the planet eternally. Plastic straws are lightweight which is why they often times do not make it through the mechanical recycling sorter and end up in the landfill or ocean instead. Plastic straws are among the top ten items of plastic debris that are found in the ocean. According to The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, “plastic debris is an emergent contaminant globally, a threat to the conservation of biodiversity and a potential danger for human health.” Due to the photodegradable properties of straws, once the plastic has decomposed into smaller pieces, animals mistake it for food and later consume it. Between 12,000 and 24,000 tons of plastic are consumed by animals each year, which can ultimately kill them. Fish typically ingest micro fibers of plastic, from straws that end up in the ocean. These bits of plastic are then circulated through the food chain as larger fish and humans consume these smaller fish. Approximately a quarter of all fish, sold in markets, contain pieces of plastic. Harmful toxins, such as BPA, are leached into humans when these fish are consumed.

Straws are single use items that have a lengthy lifespan. On average, straws are used for around twenty minutes but remain on Earth for nearly 200 years. By simply asking for no straw with your beverage you could help cut down the pollution caused by plastic straws. There are also plenty of alternatives to plastic straws, such as aluminum and wooden straws, which are reusable and portable.

What you can do to help:

It is important to be mindful of your use of straws and to also help create awareness regarding the epidemic. The next time you go out, ask for no straw to avoid the use of an unnecessary and disposable item. By taking this initiative, to ditch straws, you are contributing to a world that will have cleaner oceans, land, and air. By signing this petition we can get the attention of Andrew Wheeler and encourage him to create a resolution to this issue. If the United States legislature were to ban plastic straws, our environment would contain less single-use plastic and be on the road to repairing the damage already done.

Let’s make our oceans cleaner and encourage our government to ban plastic straws!