I know straws might not sound like a big harm to our environment but they are a big threat to the lives of our marine animals. Everyday, Americans use 500 million drinking straws(nps.gov). When straws are thrown away they end up in our oceans, rivers, forest...ect. Recycling straws is not a current solution because these straws are too small to be recycling. Straws also harm marine animals such as turtles and cause clogging in their digestive system. Sometimes these straws turn into tiny pieces of plastic that cannot seen by the naked eye. These tiny plastics are eaten by fish and sometimes end up in our food. Some places like Red Lobster, Disney, United Airlines, Starbucks, IKEA  and Shedd Aquarium (#SheddTheStraws) took action and reduced/eliminated straws.

We need your support to show UIC that we care about micro-plastics in our oceans that affect marine life and our food-web.  Please sign our petition to support our request to the bookstore to sell reusable metal straws.