3.3 Million plastic straws a day are being disposed everyday in Kerala alone.

Where do these straws go? How do they disintegrate? Are they making lives worse, in the garb of making it comfortable?

Plastic straws have become such a big part of our lives, that even the most environmentally 'woke’ of us hardly notice when we use them ourselves!

Plastic straws, more often than not, inevitably end up in landfills, which barely have mechanisms to degrade them - and that's no surprise, 'cause plastic IS Non-Biodegradable. What's worse, is that a large part of these are disposed into the ocean, where it easily breaks down, constantly affecting and depleting our marine bio-diversity. No prizes for guessing who gets affected by this the most - us!

It was during a forest cleanup after the Kerala floods that changed my attitude towards the way I see and perceive plastic straws. Plastic straws were among the most found materials we cleaned from that forest which was acting as a barricade to the water seeping into the soil. The cleanup was initiated after a long series of landslides and animal death reported due to the effect of large concentrations of plastic waste among this region.

Did you know, that none of the plastic straws used thus far have decomposed?

These straws are a direct threat to our health, giving us a range of issues, from gastric discomforts to enamel degradation, and even estrogen variations! Still waiting on the plastic straw for your juice?

So where do we begin?

From here! Let's make Thiruvananthapuram plastic straw free! We owe it, as the capital city, to our 'most literate state’ status, don't we? Let's inspire the change - one person, one household, one neighborhood, one city, one state, one country at a time! Here's where the change begins, from us. #SwapTheStraw for a more biodegradable or reusable version. Say NO to plastic straws, if you don’t really need one.

Your NO makes a DIFFERENCE!

#SwapTheStraw  for paper straws or reusable ones made of bamboo or steel, easily available online and select stores.

Push your canteens, your favorite restaurants, your family members, your peers. Push yourself and them to #SwapTheStraw today!

And tell our leaders to take stance too, to #SwapTheStraws. Sign this petition, and let them know, that the change has begun with you! #MeTheChange