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Say No! to plastic

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A little bite of waste multiplied by a whole lot of people, really adds up. At an average rate, Americans use 1.6 straws a day, or 584 a year, according to the National Parks Service. Nationwide, that's 500 million drinking straws thrown away every day - enough straws to fill about 46,400 school buses each year.

Environmental groups have targeted disposable drinking straws - that are not recyclable or compostable - for extinction. The ultimate goal: Prevent non-degradable plastic straws from polluting our beaches, waterways and oceans.

With so many other pollution problems, why straws?

"Straws are an easy thing for everybody to get started on when approaching the enormous issue of plastic pollution," said Diana Lofflin, founder of StrawFree.org, an environmental group based in southern California.

Lofflin said she realized something had to be done after seeing the video of a Costa Rican team removing a straw from a turtle's nose.

"We're seeing more plastic in our waterways and one of the most common items we find is straws," she said. "In fact, it's one of the top 10 items that are picked up at beach cleanups. It's estimated that by the year 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish."

A Growing Movement

Lawmakers in Los Angeles, Davis, Malibu and San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Miami Beach and Fort Myers Beach, Fla.; and Seattle, have passed ordinances that limit or prohibit restaurants from using plastic straws.

A ban on plastic straws for commercial use took effect in Fort Myers Beach in February. The town's environmental specialists, who patrol the beaches, report seeing fewer straws in the sand, and most of the ones they do find are biodegradable, Town Manager Roger Hernstadt told NBC News BETTER.

The ordinance does create penalties: $100 for a first offense, $500 for three or more citations within a year, but Hernstadt hopes education and warnings will be all that's needed.

"I think all the folks here understand that an attractive beach is important for them being able to draw customers, and this effort is part of making it desirable for people to come here," he said.

Malibu already bans the commercial use of plastic shopping bags and polystyrene food containers. A new city ordinance takes effect in June that adds plastic straws, stirrers and cutlery to the list.

"I think this was driven by the fact that these plastic items don't biodegrade," said Malibu Mayor Rick Mullen. "They may break down in size, but the actual plastic stays in the ecosystem and people are getting conscious about that all over the world."

Most restaurant owners support the ban, Mayor Mullen said, although some worry it will drive up their cost of doing business.

"Most people here in Malibu are not fanatical environmentalists by any stretch of the imagination," but it's part of the city's mission to "preserve the natural beauty and take care of the environment as much as possible," Mullen said. "We realize that the little things we do have a big effect on the natural world."

Assemblyman Ian Calderon (D-Whittier), majority leader of the California legislature, has introduced a bill that would require all restaurants in the state that serve food eaten on site to provide plastic straws only when requested by the customer.

Calderon insists his bill, AB-1884, is not a ban on plastic straws. "It is a small step towards curbing our reliance on these convenience products, which will hopefully contribute to a change in consumer attitudes and usage," he said in a statement.

The Industry Pushback: Plastic Isn't the Problem

The plastics industry acknowledges that waste management and marine debris are serious issues that require a real and lasting solution. But it would like to see the focus be on proper disposal and greater recycling, rather than banning certain products.

"People should have the option to use products that fit their lifestyle, but it's everyone's responsibility to make sure these items are disposed of in a way that maximizes their value and ensures that they don't end up where they shouldn't," said Ashley Stoney, director of communications for the Plastics Industry Association, in an email.

Steve Russell, vice president of plastics for the American Chemistry Council, said the industry is working on new technologies that will allow "every piece of post-use plastics" to be recycled or remade into raw materials for new products.

"We should all do our part to reduce waste by using reusable items when we can and declining straws or utensils when we don't need them," Russell said in a statement. "We should also keep in mind that protecting our health and hygiene is an important reason products such as straws and carryout utensils are designed to be used just once. These items often are made with plastics, because being both strong and lightweight; plastics often do a better job, with lower environmental impacts, than alternatives."

Strawless in Seattle

This summer, Seattle will ban the commercial use of plastic straws, plastic stir sticks and plastic utensils. Starting July 1, any business that serves food or beverages will need to provide compostable alternatives.

"It's great to have things diverted from garbage into the compost stream, which is what we're pushing with this," said Becca Fong with Seattle Public Utilities. "It's also a really good way to raise consumer awareness, to get people to think about prevention: Do they really need that straw or all of those utensils if they're getting food to go and taking it home to eat?"

Several hundred retailers made the switch in November as part of the "Strawless in Seattle" campaign, organized by Dune Ives, executive director of The Lonely Whale Foundation.

"Single use plastics are pervasive in our everyday life - it's everywhere and very little of it is recyclable. We have this unnecessary waste product becoming fish food," Ives said. "We wanted to wake people up and make them feel really powerful, that something they did would make a difference."

As part of its commitment to sustainable products, Seattle's Safeco Field, home of the Mariners, does not use plastic straws, stir sticks or utensils. The ballpark won Major League Baseball's the 2017 "Green Glove Award" for its recycling efforts. Only four percent of the waste generated there goes to the landfill, the rest is recycled or composted.

"It was a fairly invisible kind of a change for us and it didn't affect us operationally," said Rebecca Hale, director of public information for the Mariners. "I don't think that a lot of people even realize that the straws and the knives and the forks and all of that are going into the compost stream."

Hale admits that first-generation compostable utensils had some problems. For instance, spoons would melt in hot soup. But current products perform just like the non-sustainable items they replace, she said.

What Can I Do?

The Last Plastic Straw, which says the U.S. uses enough straws to wrap around the earth's circumference 2.5 times each day, suggests:

Request "no straw" at bars and restaurants.

Encourage your favorite eateries to only provide straws on request and to use compostable or reusable options to the plastic straw.

Share your commitment with others.

"Basically what we are asking you to do is DO LESS: less consumption, less waste, less straws," the site says.

More Resources

The Be Straw Free campaign, run by the nonprofit recycler eco-cycle, has information for businesses that serve straws and consumer who use them, as well as the Straw Free Pledge.

StrawFree.org sells eco-friendly bamboo straws on its website. Each one is hand-cut from locally harvested bamboo that would otherwise go to the landfill.

Strawless Ocean, an initiative powered by Lonely Whale, has links to alternative straws and ways you can share your passion for environmental responsibility.

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A little bite of waste multiplied by a whole lot of people, really adds up. At an average rate, Americans use 1.6 straws a day, or 584 a year, according to the National Parks Service. Nationwide, that's 500 million drinking straws thrown away every day - enough straws to fill about 46,400 school buses each year.

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Gambling affects the whole family

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Former New Zealander of the Year Dr Lance O'Sullivan wants the government to ban pokie machines, saying they are causing harm.

The Kaitaia-based GP raised concerns at the International Gambling conference earlier this year that gambling harm was apparent in his clinic on a daily basis.

He said one in five New Zealanders were impacted by a family members' gambling addiction.

"We're paying for the kids who aren't going to succeed at school because they're hungry and they're sick. We as a society are paying for that," Dr O'Sullivan said.

More than $3.5 million was spent on pokie machines in the Northland District last year, according to Maori public health lobby Hapai Te Hauora.

"The cost of gambling harm is not just to the individual, but extends to the family, community and burdens our health system; it is, therefore, a cost to the taxpayer," says Hapai Te Hauora chief executive Lance Norma.

He supports the call to ban pokies, especially in high-needs communities where pokie machines are most prevalent.

According to the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand, in wealthy areas, there is one pokie machine for every 465 people but in poorer areas, there is one pokie machine for every 75 people.

Maori and Pacific adults are more likely to be affected by problem gambling, with 6.2 per cent of Maori and 8 per cent of Pacific Islanders being problem or moderate-risk gamblers compared to 2.5 per cent of the total population.

Dunedin City Council unanimously voted on Wednesday to ban the establishment of any more pokie machines, new gambling venues or allowing existing outlets to relocate.

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Former New Zealander of the year and doctor calls for ban on pokie machines

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Former New Zealander of the Year Dr Lance O'Sullivan wants the government to ban pokie machines, saying they are causing harm. The Kaitaia-based GP raised concerns at the International Gambling conference earlier this year that gambling harm was apparent in his clinic on a daily basis.