Plastic Waste Ban Essay Sample

The United States is the second-biggest producer of plastic in the world. This may sound cool, but this plastic has left behind almost 40 million tons of plastic waste in just America. Not to mention all of the plastic waste in other countries across the globe is added on top of that. Plastic waste has started to show negative effects on the environment and is becoming more and more of a serious concern every day. Thus saying, people have started to take action by beginning to ban plastics that are unnecessary and wasteful. Plastic straws are one of the biggest controversial conversation starters when it comes to banning plastic. Whether they should be fully banned or just put with regulations, plastic straws are an irreversible threat against humans and the environment that can only be further helped with alternatives in restaurants and in people’s attitudes and behaviors. 

There are various people who think that banning plastic straws won’t have an effect on the environment because it’s such a small amount of plastic. Although, 500 million plastic straws are used a day. With that amount of plastic waste, there would be over 46,000 school buses filled a year. In the article, Straw or No Straw written by Aza Staff it says, “Most plastic straws are biodegradable and cannot be broken down naturally.” Since plastic straws are unable to break down, 500 million straws are used for the last time every day and sit as waste for as long as the Earth is around. Not only are using plastic straws wasting Earth’s resources, but it’s also harming the environment and animals. Found in the same article written by Aza Staff, it states, “As many as 70% of seabirds and 30% of turtles have ingested some type of plastic from the ocean.” Animals in the ocean, and also animals on land are suffering from the waste of our plastic straws.

Even though plastic straws are hurting the environment, numerous negative effects can occur by completely banning them. A perspective that lots of people don’t think about is the people who physically need the straws to drink. If plastic straws were banned, people with disabilities or physical problems wouldn’t be able to drink anything in restaurants without providing it themselves. Written by Alice Wong, in her article Eater: The Last Straw, she says, “Why would a disabled customer have to bring something in order to drink while non-disabled people are able to use what is available and free?” Disabled customers are already treated differently and taking away plastic straws will force them to feel like they’re less of a person. If plastic straws were completely banned, a large number of people would be negatively affected. 

Completely banning plastic straws would never make everyone happy. To meet an in between, Sara Watson gives an example of what people are resorting to in her article, Last Straw For Plastic Straws, “Some companies are exploring alternatives to plastic straws made of paper or wood.” Instead of plastic, straws have started being made out of more ecofriendly resources in various places. Restaurants have also started to ask customers if they prefer paper or plastic straws. Not only have restaurants started to change, but in the article, Straw or No Straw, written by Aza Staff it says, “A number of accredited members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums make it a priority to reduce their impact on the environment by implementing green practices in their business operations.” This shows that people and businesses have started to make an effort as well as restaurants. Although banning straws would decrease the amount of plastic waste, getting used to using plastic less and less is a good start in helping our environment.

Unless further behaviors are changed by helping with alternatives in restaurants and people’s attitudes, plastic straws are going to continue to be an irreversible threat to humans and the environment. Not only do plastic straws need to be regulated, but also numerous other unnecessary plastics. A lot of people aren’t aware of how much of a concern plastic is to our world. Especially when they realize that the rest of the world has their own plastic waste as well. When you think about it, America is ranked #2 out of 195 when it comes to leaving plastic waste behind. The amount of plastic waste in America is just the start.