Featured Image Credit: Eco Straws
We’ve all used straws before: in our milkshakes, coffees, or fountain drinks. The thin circular plastic seems to make a common appearance in our everyday lives, handed out by the bulk for free. But are they really necessary? It seems that straws do more damage than good.
Milo Cress seems to think so. At just nine-years-old, Milo launched a campaign, “Be Straw Free,” starting the movement to get rid of straws. These seemingly insignificant pieces of plastic have become detrimental to our environment.
They have been found littering the stomachs of countless dead marine animals and scattered across beaches. Straws are actually among the most common plastic items volunteers clean from beaches, and with Americans using half a billion every day, straws make up a large percent of trash in general.
Thanks to movements like “Be Straw Free,” we have seen straw litter and the use of straws decline. In fact, Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom has banned them. Straws and their damage to wildlife took center stage when a YouTube video of a sea turtle with a straw stuck in its nose went viral. The video, depicting a struggling turtle with blood coming out of its nose, angered at least 11.8 million viewers.
Businesses across the United States have joined in the effort to get rid of straws. At least 1,800 restaurants, organizations, institutions and schools worldwide have gotten rid of plastic straws and other organizations have even made reusable straws from bamboo.
When you really think about it, we don’t need straws. They’re so unnecessary. Making small adjustments to our everyday life habits can be extremely beneficial to our environment. Making a difference starts with one person. If a nine-year-old can create a campaign shutting down the use of straws, we can all do our part as well.