A straw enables you to drink without using your wrist. A
straw is your friend - until you lose eye contact with the straw. Then it will
betray you and make you look like an idiot. - Demetri Martin
I believe the quote is referring to losing eye contact with
the straw, and having it poke you in the eye, making you look like an idiot. But
I am drawing some other inference more relevant to the nuisance value of
straws.
A straw is your friend until you lose eye contact with it,
meaning after you are done using the straw. Did we ever think about what happens
to these straws, once we have used them and they are whisked away from us? It
gets disposed and because it’s too lightweight to be recycled, ultimately ends
up in the ocean.
How does it make me feel like an idiot? The oceans cover 70%
of the Earth’s surface, right? They can surely absorb some waste from straws. Some
groups have determined that Plastic straws account only for a tiny portion
(0.022%) of plastic waste emitted in the oceans each year.([i])
Seriously? So, what is the ruckus on banning straws? They cool man!
No, they are not cool for our ecosystem in the oceans. One
million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually from plastic in
our oceans([ii])
We have all heard about straws choking sea turtles (https://youtu.be/4MPHbpmP6_I)
and ending up in the stomachs of marine wildlife, who ingest small pieces of
plastic mistaking them for food, an accident which kills them eventually.
Humans, this is the fish we eat as we sip our drinks in a restaurant
with our “cool” straws. Your straw has basically completed its circle of life
and come back to you, like karma.
There is some debate as to the value of replacing the
material of the straw with recyclable paper straws. I personally don’t condone
paper straws either. While they counter some of the issues with the pollution
and hazard to marine life, producing paper takes a toll on trees and the entire
life-cycle of the paper from cradle to recycling has considerable carbon
footprint too. Don’t even get me started on the wrapping that comes with the straw
for wrapping! WASTE, WASTE and more WASTE…
A statewide California law restricting the provision of
single-use plastic straws went into effect on 1 January 2019. Under the law,
restaurants are only allowed to provide single-use plastic straws upon request.([iii])
Several other US states and countries all over the world are imposing similar restrictions
too. The clause “upon request” was added to allow some flexibility
to the consumption, especially for accessibility of disabled population. ([iv])
Well, great! I’ll just wait till my state or city imposes
the ban too. My straw comes automatically with my drink, it’s the restaurant’s
fault in their “default”, right? It’s being imposed on me.
Did you know why we tend to stick with the “default”? It is
human tendency to stick to the “default” which is termed as the “default bias”.
It says that for most decisions, one option is to do nothing – to keep the
status quo. When considering these options, people will find the default more
appealing in most situations. ([v])
So, the question is, what can I DO until the restaurants
change their default?
Say “NO” when you order your next beverage. We order that
too; is it so hard to add to that “NO STRAW PLEASE”?
We read so much about the power of “YES”; to save the Earth,
know the power of “NO”.
It is estimated that the US alone consumes 390 million
straws every day. ([vi])
The US population is estimated to be 330 million.
That’s more than 1 straw per person per day. Say NO to
your straw and do your part.
