Several cities, businesses and world leaders have pledged to ban plastic products in an effort to rid the world’s bodies of water of waste.
Straws are just one piece to a much larger problem...
United Nations figures show nearly nine million tonnes of plastic — bottles, packaging and other waste — enter the ocean each year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain. Straws add up to about 2,000 tonnes. They also only account 4% of the plastic trash by number of pieces.
that doesn't mean they're insignificant, they're in the top 10 found during beach cleanups.
Why target plastic straws?
United Nations and individual politicians didn't specifically target plastic straws, it all began when the bid of reducing plastic waste from oceans.
In April, British Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to eradicate plastic waste by 2042 as part of a “national plan of action.”
But their directive highlighted several types of single-use plastics, which included straws, but also cotton buds, wet wipes, stir sticks, and more.