If the turtle video doesn't convince you to make this effortless change, nothing will.
According to Business Insider, Starbucks is getting rid of plastic straws by 2020. Once that goes international, the company will eliminate over 1 billion straws per year. Seattle, Malibu and Miami banned already banned them. San Francisco passed an ordinance to ban them by 2019. Disney is banning them starting mid-2019. The country's only company that makes paper straws just got bought after experiencing 12 week delays in delivery due to demand. There's even a documentary about them.
Why is this happening?
Watch that turtle video.
Also, according to the Surfrider Foundation, "...it's easier to get rid of straws than any other single-use plastic because they aren’t a necessary means to consume a beverage (and) businesses are much more receptive to reducing their use or switching to an alternative than they might be with plastic bottles, to-go containers etc."
While straws make up a small percentage of plastic pollution in the ocean, the bans are more about building support for larger bans on other plastics in the future.
So what does one do if they want to help?
Stop using plastic straws.
Invite a favorite dining spot to become an Ocean Friendly Restaurant.
Bring straw alternatives to use during lunch and dinner. Hand blown glass straws can be purchased locally from Black Tuna Arts. Amazon sells metal and paper straws. These can all be carried into restaurants and used in place of plastic straws. While this may sound odd and excessive to some...
Tiffany is selling a $250 sterling silver bendy straw as part of their Everyday Objects collection. The Everyday Objects collection also includes the following items:
a $950 sterling silver paper plate
a $1,500 sterling silver coffee can
a $9,000 sterling silver ball of yarn
a $20,000 sterling silver lantern
a $275,000 sterling silver greenhouse.
The Tiffany straw comes with a band of enamel near the top in the official Tiffany blue color. It comes in two other colors, rose gold vermeil and gold vermeil, for $350.
The straw can be purchased online or in person at the Tiffany store inside Mall at Millenia.
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