Banning the consumption of plastic straws has become an almost irreversible trend in 2018. The Starbucks coffee chain announced that it will stop using plastic straws in stores worldwide by 2020, avoiding the consumption of over a billion straws. The fast food chain McDonald’s also recently announced that it will stop using the accessory in stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Governments have also joined the discussion, with bans in Rio de Janeiro, Scotland, and the United Kingdom. The importance of the environmental pollution issue is clear, but the question remains: why exactly the plastic straw?
Far from being the main problem when it comes to plastic pollution, the straw serves as a “gateway” to deeper discussions – and, being a disposable item in daily consumption, it can have a more significant appeal.
The numbers are impressive: in the United States alone, over 500 million plastic straws are used daily, according to a government survey. The World Economic Forum reports the existence of 150 million metric tons of plastics in the oceans. If plastic consumption continues at the same pace as today, scientists predict that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.
Another important piece of data comes from a study published by the scientific journal Science in 2015. Researchers found that humanity generates a total of 275 million tons of plastic waste per year – and a value between 4.8 million and 12.7 million tons reaches the oceans.
Activists hope that by bringing the discussion to plastic straws, consumers will become aware and stop using other single-use materials, such as bags and bottles – which are responsible for higher pollution rates.
Plastic waste in the oceans is harmful to animal life. One factual example that brings this awareness to people was a video that went viral in 2015. Now with over 30 million views, it shows a sea turtle suffering while a biologist 
tries to remove a straw stuck in the animal’s head.
In addition to causing physical harm to animals, plastic, when in the oceans, can release chemical elements that are carcinogenic and can cause hormonal disturbances. A recently concluded study also found that plastic waste can increase corals’ immunity to diseases, causing serious damage.
Globally, plastic straws represent about 0.03% of the waste of this type of material, Bloomberg reported. According to the 2017 Coastal Cleanup Report by Ocean Conservancy, the most common litter found on beaches is cigarettes, followed by plastic bottles, bottle caps, wrappers, and bags.
Source: www.epocanegocios.globo.com