The Final Straw

An opinion article by Sahus Nulu

On July 9, 2018, Starbucks announced that it would try to eliminate all plastic straws from its locations by the year 2020. This announcement had a greater effect than anticipated, causing many businesses to follow the coffee company’s lead.

The state of California decided to join in on this ban and became the first state to restrict the distribution of plastic straws at restaurants. If California business owners still try to serve plastic straws, they could eventually receive daily fines of $25. The only exception in which a business is allowed to serve plastic straws is if a customer requests for one due to personal disabilities.

All these actions against the use of plastic straws are helping to reduce plastic pollution and spread awareness about the topic. However, this ban is not as effective as it may seem since it excludes fast-food restaurants, which are some of the primary sources of plastic straw pollution. To that effect, this plastic straw ban has both its pros and cons.

Oceans, rivers, and other areas of the environment have been negatively affected by discarded plastic. What this ban aims to do is to take a small step towards keeping our environment plastic free. The California Coastal Commision recorded that around 835,000 plastic straws and stirrers have been picked up along the coast from 1988 to 2014. In 2014, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 33 million tons of plastic were disposed of, most of which was not recycled. Plastic waste keeps increasing at an alarming rate, and the only way to decrease it is by taking small steps towards reducing its harmful effects on the environment.

One of the major aspects of this straw ban is that it encourages others to join the necessity of reducing plastic waste. As a result of California’s new straw ban, the state has become much more environmentally aware. As California represents the fifth largest economy in the world, its ban on straws is extremely significant because it symbolizes California’s pro-environmental ideology and serves as a statement that it is necessary to take care of our environment. Hopefully, other major locations will soon follow California in limiting the use of plastic straws just as many other businesses followed suit after Starbucks announced its new policy.

Despite its apparent benefits, there are some drawbacks to eliminating plastic straws.

One of the main concerns with this ban is that people with disabilities would not be able to use any alternatives to plastic straws such as compostable straws. Several disability rights advocates, including the Disability Rights Washington and the Seattle Commission for People with Disabilities, state that other alternatives for plastic straws do not offer the same “combination of strength, flexibility, and safety as plastic straws do.” For example, paper straws can become soggy and disintegrate, which can turn them into potential choking hazards, and biodegradable straws do not have the heat resistance plastic straws do. In addition, people with seizures or poor motor functions might cut themselves on the stainless steel or glass straw alternatives. And Starbucks’s new sippy cup will not work for those who cannot raise the cups to their lips.

Another issue is that the California straw ban does not encompass fast-food restaurants which are one of the largest contributors to plastic waste. This means that the impact of the bill might not be very effective in reducing the waste that is discarded into the environment. Still, supporters hope that this bill will have an educational impact and the public as well as businesses will take the necessary steps to reducing plastic waste.

The plastic straw ban has created quite a controversy about cleaning up our environment, but it is a step in the right direction. This small step encourages others to do the same, and together we can address seemingly insurmountable problem of plastic waste.

[Sources:  www.latimes.com, www.cookinglight.com, www.pbs.org]