That still means that around 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute the world’s beaches, and they’re one of the top ten items collected along the planet’s coastlines. Yet despite these extremely easy-to-research facts, presidential candidates and lawmakers across the country have vowed to make these types of bans priorities — and it’s been effective. We need to make fully biodegradable polymers that are cost-competitive. Note that his goal instead is to increasingly ban more and more products we all use. As it turns out, many microorganisms make moldable bioplastic polymers that are fully degradable. China and Indonesia were the biggest contributors by an enormous margin. CRIDDLE: We need to think about what incentives will promote a culture of recycling and innovation with respect to waste streams. Criddle and Leape are also senior fellows at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Plastic straws account for less than 1 percent of the less than 1 percent the United States dumps into the ocean. Plastic waste, mostly broken down into tiny particles, floats in huge blobs amid ocean current patterns called gyres that together cover as much as 40 percent of Earth’s ocean surface. These laws are based on nothing other than virtue signaling, a hope to control consumption in the United States, and a desire to ban more and more things we all use. Criddle has evaluated use of microorganisms to biodegrade plastic materials and to synthesize biodegradable bioplastics from waste feedstocks. While it is theoretically recyclable it practically simply isn’t done and so all of those 400 million straws per day end up in the … The crucial challenge is to ensure that these bans are just a first step, offering a natural place to start with “low-hanging fruit” so long as it’s part of a much more fundamental shift away from single-use plastics across the value chains of these companies and our economy. Most plastic straws … Shuddering and unable to breathe, he vomited up five plastic bags. Of that, the United States contributed less than 1 percent. And like all plastics, they will last for centuries, and never fully degrade. Our food … About Nicholas Kerr September 19, 2018 6:30 AM. Plastic straws are the ultimate in single-use convenience. “Plastic straws are only a tiny fraction of the problem – less than 1 percent,” said an official involved with the study. Plastic straws are one of the most widely used, and therefore disposed of, plastic products. LEAPE: Plastic straws are only a tiny fraction of the problem – less than 1 percent. Leape has long been a leader in ocean conservation efforts. Interestingly, these granules contain “the seeds of their own destruction”: enzymes that break the polymer down when it is needed for food. The environmental impact of plastic straws is well documented.. Because plastic has a lifecycle … Eco At Heart explains that plastic straws are one of the top ten most common items of trash found in the ocean. Plastic Straws Account For Virtually No Ocean Pollution. These straws are not harmful. So, for example, companies need to not only make products that are recyclable, but actually make them out of recycled or truly biodegradable material. LEAPE: There are two clear imperatives. Such materials already exist in nature. CRIDDLE: Cost is a huge issue. Screenpunk via Flickr. Stanford hydrologist Newsha Ajami, an appointee to California’s regional water quality board, discusses how wildfires affect water quality, and how we can better prepare for and react to the challenges. Plastic straws make it easy to drink from a cup with a lid, minimizing spills and messes when on the go. Were Insecure Voting Processes This Year’s ‘Insurance Policy’ For Democrats? The risk is that banning straws may confer “moral license” – allowing companies and their customers to … Paper straws aren’t recyclable. We go through a staggering 25.3 billion plastic straws in Europe … Further problems: Paper straws are not actually biodegradable and use significantly more energy to produce than plastic straws. The second, more fundamental imperative is to get plastics out of our waste stream. (Photo credit: Shutterstock). One recent survey found plastics in 94 percent of tap water samples in the U.S. and in nearly every brand of bottled water. They’re in about a quarter of the seafood in our markets, and even in table salt. 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wants to ban fracking. While it may seem like merely a minor inconvenience to drink out of a mushy paper straw or sippy-cup lid, bans on straws have become the trendiest piece of legislation in the United States. A better understanding of how gravity waves in the upper atmosphere interact with the jet stream, polar vortex and other phenomena could be key to improved weather predictions and climate models. Compostable plastic straws are no better than regular plastic straws … While a staggering amount of … Criddle is director of Stanford’s Codiga Resource Recovery Center, a member of Stanford Bio-X and an affiliate of the Precourt Institute for Energy. Ultimately, we can further decrease costs and achieve economies of scale through decentralized production systems and perhaps also at large biorefineries. We add another 8 million tons each year – that’s about five grocery bags full of plastic waste on every foot of shoreline around the world, according to a recent study. In most cases, single-use plastic straws are an altogether unnecessary form of waste. Switching to reusable straws will lower the amount of pollution in our oceans, and less pollution means less harm to the environment and marine life! Why Getting Rid of Plastic Straws Is Becoming Good for Business Companies like Starbucks are staying ahead of the curve when it comes to environmental backlash. We should do likewise. So before you congratulate yourself for unwrapping a delightful paper straw at your favorite coffee house, consider the actual environmental effects. CRAIG CRIDDLE: In addition to recycling more and reusing materials more, we need new materials that can do the same jobs as current plastics, but are biodegradable, nontoxic and do not concentrate in food chains. Like an undulating seesaw, weather in some regions swings from drought to heavy rain under the weight of climate-induced changes, a new study finds. So, they are more sustainable than plastic straws … This convenience has made … The straws are typically made using polypropylene, a type of plastic made from petroleum. It makes sense why straws rank so high for volunteer trash collectors — straws are way easier to identify than tiny bits of plastic… Plastics also permeate freshwater systems like rivers and streams. Why The Plastic Straws … There is a lot of research now underway on the health effects of ocean plastics, but we already know that some plastics, and the chemicals that attach themselves to plastics in the water, can cause cancer, genetic disruptions and other ill effects. At all, you will be able to save the environment. We can also decrease costs through improved bioprocessing methods, through metabolic engineering and by exploring and harnessing the incredible diversity of bioplastic-making systems that evolution has already created. Your plastic straws are not hurting the environment, but the laws against them are irrevocably hurting our freedom. The crucial challenge is to ensure that these bans are just a first step. … The risk is that banning straws may confer “moral license” – allowing companies and their customers to feel they have done their part. “When you’re laser-focused on climate change, that means that you’re not properly focused on good forest management, and that’s what’s been neglected.”. Straws make up a trifling percentage of the world's plastic products, and campaigns to eliminate them will not only be ineffective, but could distract from far more useful efforts. School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, BY Rob Jordan, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Shared Analytical Facilities and Research Resources, Gravity wave insights from internet-beaming balloons, Q&A: How wildfires threaten water quality. Latest Stanford Health Alerts on COVID-19, As communities act to ban single-use plastics and individual consumers raise concerns, bigger actors pay attention. And when that happens, don’t blame decades of land mismanagement, blame Donald Trump! The first is to invest in better waste collection in the handful of countries that account for most of the plastic flowing into the ocean. NRDC’s Eric Goldstein gives the scoop on the latest environmental villain and explains why plastic straws really are a big menace to our oceans. It is good to use the paper straw as well for the environment. Democrat congressmembers told blatant lies and dodged questions pressing them on their statements to avoid being exposed. Leape, an avowed environmentalist, seemed to readily acknowledge the futile act of removing plastic straws from American life. Last week, Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris said she would enact a federal ban on plastic drinking straws if she were elected president in 2020, despite also saying paper straws are barely useable. But, bamboo is a renewable and natural material (unlike plastic), and bamboo straws are generally reusable, and can be composted (as long as they are labelled as such) at the end of their life cycle. Do not be convinced you are saving the planet by drinking out of a terrible straw. The bans are not based at all on science and facts about ocean pollution but entirely reliant on activist emotion intent on making people think the world is on the verge of ending. Forty years after the launch of the first universal recycling symbol, only 14 percent of plastic packaging is recycled. … Copyright © 2020 The Federalist, a wholly independent division of FDRLST Media, All Rights Reserved. Consumer outrage about the plastics crisis is already commanding attention from big companies and from many governments. New and sustainable business models are needed to address the current plastic deluge and also to enable a new generation of sustainable materials and technologies. “The crucial challenge is to ensure that these bans are just a first step, offering a natural place to start with ‘low-hanging fruit’ so long as it’s part of a much more fundamental shift away from single-use plastics across the value chains of these companies and our economy.”. Plastic straws are simply not killing the planet, and science just can’t stop proving it. The New York City Council also recently introduced legislation to ban plastic straws … In fact, even climate activists involved in the study struggled to see any noticeable effects of a nationwide straw ban. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler: You Don’t Have To Ban Fracking If You Regulate It To Death, ‘Refuge: America’s Wildest Places’ Is A Testament To American Exceptionalism, Neglected Forest Management, Not Climate Change, Is Why California Is On Fire, Biden Blames Trump For The West Coast Wildfires Democrats Fanned, Climate Expert Mike Shellenberger Mocked By Democrats Following His Testimony On Clean Energy. “The risk is that banning straws may confer ‘moral license,’” said Jim Leape, co-director for the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions. Straws account for a nearly immeasurable amount of refuse in the ocean, yet laws are being changed at the whim of a widely shared conspiracy that they pose a significant risk to the planet despite significant evidence to the contrary. Last but not least, using reusable straws … According to Dr. Burhenne, the only way straw use could potentially protect the teeth is if the tip of the straw is in the back of the mouth and the liquid goes straight to the throat without … Communities and consumers can play vital roles in sparking action. Straws are convenient because they allow people to slowly sip a beverage. The small pilot whale, found in a Thai canal this past June, is another symptom of a crisis in the world’s oceans. Plastic straws are ubiquitous, whether we like it or not. It is estimated that there are now 150 million metric tons of plastic in the ocean. Ellie Bufkin is a breaking news reporter at The Washington Examiner and a senior contributor to The Federalist. As of July 1, Seattle is the first U.S. city to ban the use of plastic straws for vendors in the city, as well as plastic stir sticks and utensils. It is good to switch on the best technology and you can make the plastic straws degradable. Driven by public pressure, governments and corporations are considering eliminating or phasing out single-use plastics such as straws. It has been projected that, if current trends continue, by 2050 the plastic in the ocean will outweigh the fish. Thoughtful laws are needed to control the problem and at the same time encourage innovation. Stanford experts discuss the limitations of these bans and the potential for meaningful change. Virtue-signaling lefties rejoice in what they consider to be “planet-saving” bans on useful items that children and disabled people need daily. Cavities. Sugar and oils are too expensive. Other states such as Hawaii, cities such as Seattle and New York, and corporations such as Amazon and Starbucks are also considering or have initiated plastic phase-out plans. Once tainted with food or drink, a paper product must be routed to landfill. Plastic straws are believed Just one of the top 10 plastic marine waste from the Sea. Ellie worked in the wine industry as a journalist and sommelier. Also, the Starbucks anti-straw campaign was accelerated by a gruesome video showing a turtle impaled by a plastic straw and that same video is being used in other campaigns. Again, bamboo straws are not bendable like a plastic straw is. As communities act to ban single-use plastics and individual consumers raise concerns, bigger actors pay attention. LEAPE: Plastic straws are only a tiny fraction of the problem – less than 1 percent. (Straws made of compostable paper or plastic are still allowed.) About half the cost of making biodegradable polymers is the cost of feedstock. Plastic products that encounter food are recyclable, but paper products, which absorb food and waste, are not. , single-use plastic straws are only a tiny fraction of the world ’ ‘. Recent survey found plastics in 94 percent of the world ’ s ‘ Insurance Policy ’ for Democrats dumps... 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