Essay Sample on Plastic Straws to Be Banned

Introduction

Since the campaign against plastic pollution in the oceans began, plastic straws - and other products manufactured with the material and which are considered for single use - have become the biggest villains in the environment. Around the world, several laws and projects have emerged in favor of banning straws. Numbers and facts are there to prove that, yes, plastic is responsible for negatively impacting the quality of the oceans, marine ecosystems, and, consequently, the entire planet (Mosquera, 2019; Wagner & Toews, 2018). The straw is usually used for a few minutes when drinking, but it takes up to 200 years to decompose since they are usually composed of polypropylene or polystyrene, non-biodegradable materials. Therefore, it is not impossible to think that the solution is a ban on disposable plastic straws. However, the straw incidentally represents 4% of the world's plastic waste (Borenstein, 2018). In this regard, the debate is still ongoing on whether banning these items is the most effective solution, with most critics questioning the role of the plastic industry in the issue. This paper presents the two arguments on the subject, bringing both sides of the coin: who is against and who is in favor of banning plastic straw. Sustainable education is the pillar for society to evolve in the area of conscious consumption.

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Effects of Plastics on Species and Ecosystems

Scientific interest in the effects of plastics on species and ecosystems is growing. Every year, more plastics are seen in the sea. This is due in part to the fact that they do not degrade, but rather fragment into smaller and smaller particles, but without disappearing. In the United States alone, it is estimated that more than 500 million straws are used per day, and the goal is to combat the global avalanche of plastics that threatens the planet. Mosquera (2019), while suggesting putting in place better legislative measures to ban the use of plastic straws pointed out that it is worrying that plastic consumption is increasing every day, yet plastics are non-biodegradable.

The ban on disposable plastic straws has taken on an increasingly widespread global dimension - in the media and on social networks (Wagner et al., 2018). In 2018, many articles and campaigns circulated with striking images about the misuse of plastic. Among them, a 2015 video, recorded off the coast of Costa Rica, went viral on the internet showing the effort of environmentalists to remove a straw stuck in the nostril of a sea turtle. It has become a reference to the evils that a small object, such as a straw, can do for marine beings. A study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in partnership with McKinsey that has been widely cited estimates that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans if the pattern of consumption does not change (MacArthur et al., 2016). According to the document, about 8 million tons are dumped every year in the seas around the world, with the number estimated to quadruple by 2050. It did not take long for straws to be considered by the press as the new villains of the environment. With the disclosure of the problem, and public opinion increasingly opposed to plastics, the ban on plastic straws and other disposable products is one of the measures that have been adopted by governments, companies, and institutions in several countries. Among the most publicized was the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, who in February 2018 decreed a ban on plastic straws, as well as other items of the same material in her palace.

Open Dialogue on Conscious Consumption

One of the arguments surrounding the banning of straws is precisely the lack of awareness among the population regarding the proper use and disposal of the product. The origin of plastic waste in the oceans is inadequate disposal. If any product is disposed of inappropriately, the tendency is that it will have a negative impact on the environment. In the case of plastic, certainly, because it has light characteristics, it tends to fall into rivers and, consequently, into the sea. A study where the presence of garbage in the seas and the percentage of plastics worldwide were surveyed identified that the more degraded the marine environment, the worse the solid urban waste management in that place (Borenstein, 2018). Most of those who take a position on marine litter and launch campaigns to ban plastics on the beaches and seas forget that it is a consequence of inadequate management of urban waste.

Simply banning the item cuts off any process of evolution and understanding by the population, especially due to the role of plastic in daily lives. Society always existed with different materials until the mid-1950s, when plastic started to appear and replace other raw materials with efficiency and low cost. In civil construction, for instance, it is used to imitate various raw materials with essence and quality. Naturally, this creates a trade war, which causes production chains to attack inappropriately and incorporate an absurd discourse against plastics. Of course, there are problems - like any product that reaches the end of its useful life and does not have the proper disposal - but, in fact, this has turned everyone into a battle against plastic. Society does not live without plastic. What is needed to change is the dialogue of understanding about the material, which needs to be reinvented so that people can understand its benefits, use it consciously, and correctly target it.

Dialogue and education are the cornerstones for people to learn to behave better when it comes to conscious consumption. The decision to ban and put plastic as the villain in history is exactly the opposite of the process that should be encouraged. The laws that prohibit straws establish that restaurants and bars basically inform their customers that the product is not available because it is considered a problem. However, this is not educating. The education process could start from a law that establishes that establishments inform their customers that plastic straws are available to be used for any need, but that, above all, that is a place adapted to not offer them. This awareness could even culminate in a future with more conscious consumption, in which straws are no longer needed, but all of this would be voluntary. Conscious consumption must be prioritized. In addition, the law should also evolve and discuss the correct destination for the recycling process, not only for plastic straws but for other materials as well.

Conclusion

It is not for nothing that plastic is everywhere; it is a versatile and powerful material, which manages to be both light and malleable, and durable and resistant. It can take on infinite shapes, colors and performs well for design. Thus, plastic is everywhere, from shoe soles to contact lenses, on cell phones, storing medicine, storing food in the refrigerator, and in the refrigerator itself. However, the little attention given to the chemical composition in terms of recyclability and the design of products made from plastic, the relatively low cost, and poor management of the chain have led to widespread pollution of this material, which now affects practically all parts of the world. To review this, it is urgent to think of better solutions so that this material is not spread in the wrong places. However, just banning plastic straws does not solve the situation - and, as already mentioned, can have unintended consequences. It is necessary to develop viable alternatives and further disseminate the idea that the use of disposable plastic products is harmful to both the environment and human beings. Most importantly, these alternatives must be done with public policies, educational actions, and changes in industrial production, chemical engineering, and new business models that guarantee the circularity of plastics.

References

Borenstein, S. (2018, April). Science Says: Amount of straws, plastic pollution is huge.
https://phys.org/news/2018-04-science-amount-straws-plastic-pollution.html#:~:text=Straws%20make%20up%20about%204,that%20yearly%20hits%20the%20waters.

MacArthur, D. E., Waughray, D., & Stuchtey, M. R. (2016, January). The new plastics economy, rethinking the future of plastics. In World Economic Forum.

Mosquera, M. R. (2019). Banning Plastic Straws: The Beginning of the War against Plastics. Earth Jurisprudence & Envtl. Just. J., 9, 5.
https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/earjujo9&div=2&id=&page=

Wagner, T. P., & Toews, P. (2018). Assessing the use of default choice modification to reduce the consumption of plastic straws. Detritus, (4), 113
https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2018.13734.