We create a huge amount of plastic each and every day a great deal of which is discarded. According to UK waste management body, WRAP, we get through 100 million tonnes of the stuff every year. That’s a 50% increase since the 1950s. Certainly, straws are only a small part of the problem. Not least they are lightweight and small. However, they’ve also come to signify quite how wasteful we can be. Most of the time we don’t really need straws. The convenience of not having to bring a cup to our lips is certainly something that we could do without. There are of course exceptions, especially in certain physical and medical circumstances. The thing with plastic straws is that they are not easily recycled. Their lightweight means that the big processing machines often don’t actually end up processing them even if they have made it into the recycling bin. They also often end up blowing out of bins or landfill into the surrounding nature or our oceans. It’s said that we get through a staggering 500 million plastic straws in a day in the US. All those takeaway meals and cocktail served complete with plastic straws all add up. Marine life is also negatively affected by our plastic straws use and disposal. The UN reports that more than 800 animal species are affected by marine debris. Things are changing, however. The EU is banning single-use plastics by 2021. Even McDonalds are rolling our paper straws. So it’s time to finally bid the plastic straw farewell. There are now viable alternatives and choosing eco-friendly straws just makes sense. We have a lot more to do than simply worry about straws. All the same these highly visible single-use plastic suckers help raise awareness of plastic waste. And of course, each less straw washed up on our beaches or harming marine life is a good thing!

1. Glassbottles
Straws
Plasticlids
Plasticbags
Foodwrappers
Bottlecaps
Plasticbottles
Cigarettebutts
DID YOU KNOW?
500&
PLASTIC STRAWS ARE THE 7TH
MOST
COLLECTED ITEMS FROM BEACHES
A BRIEF HISTORY OF
1888
Paper straws were first
invented. While
drinking a Mint Julep
Marvin Stone wrapped
paper around a pencil
and glued it together to
prevent his reed straw
going soggy.
1930s
Joseph Friedman
invented the bendy
straw by winding
cotton around a screw
inside a straw to create
indents allowing it to
bend.
1884
Dickens wrote of the
pleasure of drinking a
Sherry Cobbler through
a reed straw in
‘Martin Chuzzlewit’.
1900s
Reed straws or paper
ones were used to
prevent the spread of
disease in America’s
soda fountains.
1950s
Plastic straws become
popular as a regular
addition to fast food
purchases.
2015
A film of a sea turtle
with a plastic straw in
its nose raised global
awareness of the
problem with straws
and their effect on
marine life[3]
2018
David Attenborough’s
Blue Planet II “opened
peoples eyes to the
damage we’re doing to
our oceans and the
creatures that live in
them.”
2025
EU deadline for phasing
out single-use plastics.
SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH
Plastic Straws have become an unsightly mess across beaches of the world.
Plastic straws can take up to
200 YEARS
HARM
to degrade[5]
OCEANS
They blow into
from landfills and trash
Fish and other marine life
consume plastic causing them
2050
BY THE YEAR
100,000
AT LEAST
PLASTIC DEBRIS
As plastics enter the food chain
they can harm humans too.
More than 50% of the world
population (of humans) might
have microplastics in their
stools [8]
#TAKEACTION
Of the 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic ever
produced only 9% has been recycled [6]
SAY NO
Ask for non plastic straws
when you eat out
Use metal or glass
alternatives that can
be reused
Spread the word and
encourage your friends
and family to reduce
their use of single-use
plastics
Or even better none
at all
ACTION www.trvst.world/action/non-plastic-straws/
History of Plastic Straws www.trvst.world/inspiration/history-of-plastic-straws/
Environmental Impact of Plastic Straws www.trvst.world/inspiration/environmental-impact-of-plastic-straws/
SOURCES
[1] https://www.statista.com/chart/13984/eu-consumption-of-single-use-plastic-drinking-straws/
[2] http://www.ecocycle.org/bestrawfree/about
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MPHbpmP6_I
[4] https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/International-Coastal-Cleanup_2017-Report.pdf
[5] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263550783_Microbial_Degradation_of_Starch_Based_Polypropylene
[6] http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782
[7] https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/new-plastics-economy-report-offers-blueprint-to-design-a-circular-future-for-plastics
[8] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328702413_ASSESSMENT_OF_MICROPLASTIC_CONCENTRATIONS_IN_HUMAN_STOOL_-_FINAL_RESULTS_OF_A_PROSPECTIVE_STUDY
ICON CREDITS DESIGN CREDITS
Icon’s made with Freepik, Flaticons, Smashicons, Nikita Golubev from www.flaticon.com Designed by TRVST Creative Director - Pete Duggan /pete.duggan/
[1] [2]
[4]
[7]
www.trvst.world/inspiration/plastic-straws-infographic“The Last Straw” Source