1000 Flowers for the Planet - #621 Use a Glass or Aluminium Straw
A staggering 500 million
drinking straws are used in the USA every DAY! This is an amazing statistic,
and even if it were exaggerated ten-fold we would still be left with a
staggering amount. This figure, when multiplied by the number of days in the
years gives us 182,500,000,000 plastic straws used every year in the USA. The
straw manufacturers must be wringing their hands with glee. And we haven’t even
mentioned the entire rest of the world where straws are also used.
Flower #73 suggested refusing straws altogether, which is
really the best idea. After all, as adults, surely we are quite capable of
lifting a glass to our mouth to drink. If you’re worried about hygiene, please
have a think about who has touched the tip of the straw you’re drinking from. However,
many of these straws come wrapped in plastic or paper – more resources being
used for a single use product, only to be tossed into landfill or allowed to escape
into the environment. How many of you have seen the video on the Internet of
the turtle having a straw extracted from its nostril? Not a pretty sight, was
it?
Straws in the environment are a huge danger to wildlife and
marine creatures. They are a waste of valuable resources, so if you haven’t got
the hang of drinking out of a glass yet, then buy yourself a glass or aluminium
straw that can be washed and reused as many times as you like. By having your
own straw you’re also more likely to take care of it as you carry it around,
and you’ll be aware of how your actions affect the environment.
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