MCC Daily Tribune

Green Tip: Say NO to the Straw

In 2019, California was the first state to prohibit dine-in restaurants from providing customers with a single-use plastic straw unless requested. Oregon, New York City, Washington DC, and Colorado also have laws restricting the use of disposable plastic straws.  
 
Why pick on plastic straws? 

• They are not recyclable, even though many are made of polypropylene. The problem is that since they are small and lightweight, in the recycling process they drop through sorting screens and mix with other materials so they either contaminate recycling or end up as garbage. 
• For many of us they are unnecessary. While some people need a straw, many of us use them since they came in our beverages. 
• Straws/stirrers are 5th on the list of pollutants and account for 7.5% of U.S. plastic pollution according to the B.A.N. LIST 2.0 (Better Alternatives Now) which used datasets from Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup Day, NOAA's Marine Debris Tracker, Clean Ocean Action, Project Aware, and Heal the Day to compile their report. 
• Straws are a danger to wildlife since the plastic, once covered by algae, is often mistaken for food, and eaten by seabirds, turtles, and fish. Once eaten, it can cause blockages in their digestive system. 
• Plastic is made to last longer than a human lifetime and does not break down easily in the environment. According to earthday.org’s Fact Sheet on Single Use Plastics, 79% of plastic that has ever been made still sits in landfills or the natural environment (except for the small amount that has been incinerated or recycled). 

 What can you do? 

• When ordering a drink, politely request 'no straw please.' 
• Buy your own reusable straw - made from glass, steel, metal, bamboo, silicone, or paper for those times you really want a straw! 

Ann Penwarden
Sustainability Steering Committee
05/14/2024