Why Plastic Straws are Harmful to the Environment?

Most plastics are not biodegradable. It proves to be extremely dangerous when we overproduce, overuse and over consume. Plastic cannot be broken down naturally by bacteria or other living organisms. As a result, harming the environment and wildlife habitats. 

The plastic build up finds its way into our lakes, rivers and oceans. This puts aquatic life in danger as they may ingest it or be exposed to the toxins that leach from it. Unfortunately, more often than not wildlife, like seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals get trapped or ensnared in plastic waste. Subsequently, millions of turtles and seabirds among other wildlife die each year from issues directly related to plastic. Approximately, 70% of seabirds and 30% of turtles ingest some type of plastic from the ocean. This is harmful to our environment not only because it’s non biodegradable which means a higher accumulation of waste, but also because it harms so many animals that sustain our environment. 

Plastic straws are one of the most widely used and therefore, the biggest culprit of plastic waste. Straws are also more prone to ending up in our waterways and ultimately the ocean due to beach littering and wind carrying light weight products. Most straws break into even smaller particles that release chemicals into the soil, air and water that is harmful to our environment in tremendous ways. Given this, the use of plastic straws is being banned and more people are switching to alternatives such as paper straws. 

Here are a few ways to protect the environment from plastic straws:

1. Switch to plastic alternatives such as paper straws such as Piper Pipe’s 
2. Reuse
3. Reduce
4. Recycle

The team at Paper Pipe wants to encourage people to stop using plastic straws for good. Here are some more facts about what our environment will look like if we don’t switch to alternatives:

1. By the year 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish (by weight)*
2. By 2050, 99% of all seabird species will have ingested plastic.
3. Scientists at the UGA New Materials Institute conducted a new study which discovered microplastics particles smaller than dust or powdered sugar inside baby sea turtles. Of the turtles studied in this research, 100% were found to have eaten plastic. These baby sea turtles were likely dying due to ingested plastic pollution, which threatens the species’ survival.