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MotherJones: There’s a Horrifying Amount of Plastic in the Ocean. This Chart Shows Who’s to Blame.

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MotherJones: There’s a Horrifying Amount of Plastic in the Ocean. This Chart Shows Who’s to Blame.

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Marine scientists have long known that plastic pollution in the ocean is a huge problem. The most visible sign of it is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an accumulation of waste (actually spanning several distinct patches) floating in the ocean. It's at least twice the size of Texas and can be seen from space. This pollution has an incalculably lethal effect on everything from plankton to whales.

So just how much plastic is there? A new study in Science yesterday put out some pretty horrifying numbers: In 2010, the study finds, between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons (that's about 10.5 billion to 28 billion pounds) of plastic entered the oceans-the median of those estimates is 1.3 times the weight of the Great Pyramid at Giza.

If we want to crack down on all that plastic, knowing where it all comes from could be as important as knowing how much there is. That's the main idea behind this study. A team of scientists led by University of Georgia environmental engineer Jenna Jambeck set out to calculate how much plastic every one of the world's 192 coastal countries dumps into the ocean. To do it, they combined data on each country's per-capita waste generation, the size of the population living within 50 kilometers of the ocean, the percentage of waste that is plastic, and the percentage of plastic waste that is "mismanaged" (defined as "either littered or inadequately disposed").

The last step is to estimate how much of the mismanaged coastal plastic waste actually washes into the sea. (This is the step that explains the wide uncertainty range in the grand totals above.) Jambeck drew on existing literature on waste streams from places like South Africa and the Bay Area to reach an estimate of 15-40 percent; she then applied that range across the board.

The chart below shows the worst offenders, in terms of total plastic pollution in the ocean in 2010, using data from the study. The top-ranks belong to middle-income countries with rapidly growing coastal populations that lack the resources to keep pace with waste management infrastructure. By contrast, even though the United States has relatively good waste management, its per-capita waste production is so high that it makes the top 20.

That's right: China alone dumped nearly 5 billion pounds of plastic waste into the ocean in 2010. But what's even worse is just how much the study projects these numbers will grow in the future, based on predictions of population growth in each country by 2025. The chart below shows the top-ranked countries in terms of total mismanaged plastic waste (in other words, not all of this plastic is necessarily winding up in the ocean). China is still very much in the lead, and India shows a disturbing explosion of plastic pollution:

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There's a horrifying amount of plastic in the ocean. This chart shows who's to blame.

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Marine scientists have long known that plastic pollution in the ocean is a huge problem. The most visible sign of it is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an accumulation of waste (actually spanning several distinct patches) floating in the ocean. It's at least twice the size of Texas and can be seen from space.

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Bottled Water Maters: Bottled Water: Always There When You Need It

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Bottled Water Maters: Bottled Water: Always There When You Need It

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Plastic retail bags - the kind you get from your grocer or at the corner store - are being targeted for bans and taxes in communities around the country, regardless of the unintended consequences. Bans and taxes have a negative impact on working families and seniors on fixed incomes, but they don't help the environment in any meaningful way-in fact they can cause bigger problems.

Banning and taxing recyclable, reusable products doesn't make sense, even in the most well-intentioned scenarios. Keep reading to find out why.

Environment
Plastic bags are the most environmentally friendly option at the checkout. Find out the surprising green truth for yourself.

Recycling
Plastic bag recycling is simple and effective, thanks to thousands of recycling drop-off locations across the country.

Jobs and Economy
Bag bans and taxes make trips to the grocery store more expensive, especially for low- and fixed-income families - with no meaningful impact on the environment to back them up. They also threaten thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

Health
Be mindful with your reusable canvas and non-woven bags. Without frequent washing and appropriate storage, reusable bags can harbor dangerous bacteria.

Reuse
Nearly 90% of Americans reuse plastic bags. What do you do with yours?

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Bans and taxes have a negative impact on working families and seniors on fixed incomes, but they don't help the environment in any meaningful way-in fact they can cause bigger problems.

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National Geographic Kids: Plastic Pollution

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National Geographic Kids: Plastic Pollution

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Education World: Grocery Store Bans Plastic Bags

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Education World: Grocery Store Bans Plastic Bags

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FoxBusiness: California's Bag Ban Hurting the Job Market?

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FoxBusiness: California's Bag Ban Hurting the Job Market?

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California's bag ban hurting the job market? | Fox Business Video

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Infogram: Reasons for Banning/Not Banning Plastic Bags

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Infogram: Reasons for Banning/Not Banning Plastic Bags

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Untitled infographic by calopes - Infogram

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The main argument to be against a ban of plastic bags is they are useful and help carrying things. Some people think that a ban is not necessary if people take care and dispose plastic bags in the right places. Investing in recycling systems and environme

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FDA Consumer Magazine: Bottled Water: Better than Tap?

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FDA Consumer Magazine: Bottled Water: Better than Tap?

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Newsela: Coke Aims to Recycle a Bottle for Each It Sells by 2030

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Newsela: Coke Aims to Recycle a Bottle for Each It Sells by 2030

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Coke aims to recycle a bottle for each it sells by 2030.pdf

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Learning English: Plastic Bags: To Ban or Not to Ban?

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Learning English: Plastic Bags: To Ban or Not to Ban?

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This is the holiday season in the United States. People are buying gifts and carrying them home, usually in plastic shopping bags. They are only a small amount of the huge number of disposable plastic bags that are used all year long to contain groceries and other items.

Janet Larsen directs research for the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. She says too many plastic bags end up as litter, polluting waterways.

"They get caught in bushes and trees. In storm water systems, they end up clogging up sewers."

In an effort to keep plastic bags out of the environment, California recently became the first state to ban businesses from giving new plastic bags to customers. Some other states and cities charge a small amount of money for every bag given out. That is meant to encourage people to bring their own bags when they go shopping.

Mark Daniels is senior vice president for environmental policy at Hilex Poly, one of the country's largest plastic bag manufacturers and recyclers. He says people should be able to get new plastic bags without paying. Mr. Daniels says they are a good environmental choice.

"Every single scientific litter study that has been done always show that plastic retail are a fraction of one percent."

Some environmentalists claim that plastic bags are clogging landfills. However, Mark Daniels points to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency that says that is not always true.

"All plastic bags, not just retail bags, are 4/10ths of one percent the waste stream."

Five years ago, Washington D.C. placed a 5-cent fee on every plastic bag given out by businesses in the city. The money is being used to clean up the local Anacostia watershed.

And the effort is making a difference. Brian Van Wye heads storm waterprogram implementation at the city's Department of the Environment. He says once people started to pay for plastic bags, they used less of them. Fewer bags ended up in the waterways.

"The stream clean-up groups are telling us that they've seen a 60 percent reduction in the disposal bags that they find while they're doing stream cleanups."

He also says that's helping to save water life.

"We also know that plastic bags, they break down over time. It's something aquatic life will consume and ingest and that can cause serious harm and potentially death for aquatic life like fish and turtles."

But customers who say they need shopping bags aren't always happy about paying for them. At a Washington restaurant, Bill Ford says he has to use a bag to carry out his lunch.

"I don't know why some people need to pay because, some people, a small minority of people are throwing stuff into rivers and waterways."

Still, Carol Powers, who also paid for a bag, approves of Washington's program.

"It seems kind of silly to pay five cents for a bag, but if that's what it takes to help save the environment, then it's a good idea."

Hilex Poly and other manufacturers are recycling the bags. Mark Daniels says that is a better alternative than taxing or banning them.

"We reprocess it, we clean it, we shred it, we make new post-consumer recycle product and put that back into the manufacturing of new bags."

But Janet Larsen of the Earth Policy Institute doesn't think that's the answer.

"The plastic bag industry has often used recycling as a deterrent for communities that, even when residents are saying, we want to limit these. It really doesn't help to minimize the problems. What we would advocate for would be a washable, reusable bag to take the place of all those plastic bags."

Bags like the one Carol Chastang uses to carry her lunch...

"This is my contribution to keeping the environment cleaner and safer."

More than 18 million Americans now live in communities that tax or ban plastic bags, and that number is expected to go up again next year.

I'm Anne Ball.
This story came from VOA reporter Deborah Block. Marsha James wrote it for VOA Learning English. Jeri Watson was the editor.
______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

litter - n. things that have been thrown away and are lying on the ground in a public place

disposable - n. something that is made to be thrown away after it is used once

clog - v. to slowly form a block in (something, such as a pipe or street) so that things cannot move through quickly or easily

alternative - adj. offering or expressing a choice.
Now it's your turn to use these Words in this Story. In the comments section, write a sentence using one of these words and we will provide feedback on your use of vocabulary and grammar.

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This is the holiday season in the United States. People are buying gifts and carrying them home, usually in plastic shopping bags. They are only a small amount of the huge number of disposable plastic bags that are used all year long to contain groceries and other items.

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Science News for Students: Swirling Seas of Plastic Trash

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Science News for Students: Swirling Seas of Plastic Trash

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Kamilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii, is no ordinary beach. While it has sand, most of the island is made up of cooled chunks of lava rock that formed when

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Futurity: Can Banning Plastic Straws Save the Oceans?

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Futurity: Can Banning Plastic Straws Save the Oceans?

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Growing public concern has led to calls to ban single-use plastics, most notably straws. But can that have a meaningful effect?

Plastic waste, mostly in the form of tiny particles, floats in huge blobs that together cover as much as 40 percent of the Earth's ocean surface.

In California, a bill to ban straws unless requested at dine-in restaurants is awaiting a signature from the governor. Other states such as Hawaii, cities such as Seattle and New York, and corporations such as Amazon and Starbucks are also considering or have initiated plastic phase-out plans.

Here, Jim Leape, co-director of the Center for Ocean Solutions, and Craig Criddle, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, both at Stanford University, discuss the path to reducing ocean plastic pollution. Leape has long been a leader in ocean conservation efforts. Criddle has evaluated use of microorganisms to biodegrade plastic materials and to synthesize biodegradable bioplastics from waste feedstocks.

Stay Connected. Subscribe to our Newsletter.

Add your information below to receive daily updates.

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Can banning plastic straws save the oceans?

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Growing public concern has led to calls to ban single-use plastics, most notably straws. But can that have a meaningful effect? Plastic waste, mostly in the form of tiny particles, floats in huge blobs that together cover as much as 40 percent of the Earth's ocean surface.

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Love to Know: Why We Should Not Ban Plastic Bags

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Love to Know: Why We Should Not Ban Plastic Bags

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Let us help you live a life you love. Find tools to help you have fun and make the most out of each and every day.

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Hearst: What Are Some Advantages of Bottled Water? 

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Hearst: What Are Some Advantages of Bottled Water? 

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What Are Some Advantages of Bottled Water?

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While some people might argue that it’s silly to spend money on something you can get for…

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NYPost: The City Council’s Plan to Promote E. Coli

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NYPost: The City Council’s Plan to Promote E. Coli

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AP

New York City's do-gooders are at it again, this time looking to put a 10-cent fee on each plastic bag that stores normally provide to their customers without charge.

This isn't just another burden on the city's beleaguered small retailers, it's also a terrible idea for public health.

When then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg pushed a similar proposal a few years back, it never even got a hearing. But the new bill already has 19 City Council members signed on as co-sponsors.

And Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris told WNYC radio this month that the fee is a direction the de Blasio administration is "very supportive of."

I long ago lost count of how many regulations of the past decade have unintended, bad consequences that hit the city's small retailers the hardest.

These beleaguered store owners already face an army of enforcement agents who treat them like a cash cow. The city's bids to promote "the public good" never take into consideration the health of these stores or the neighborhood economies that they support.

Our local army of regulators belongs to what the author Saul Bellow called the Good Intentions Paving Co.

This company's projects are always well-meant, but when they turn out to have undesired costs, tradeoffs and side-effects, the company leaders sincerely believe that none of the blame can possibly attach to them. After all, their intentions were good!

The irony here is that the bag fee poses a direct threat to New Yorkers' health.

The point of the bag tax is to force consumers to substitute reusable bags for the no-longer-free plastic ones.

Problem is, reusable bags play a significant role in food contamination unless they're properly washed on a regular basis - something people rarely do.

In a public-health study done at the University of Arizona, researchers found that only 3 percent of shoppers with multi-use bags said they regularly washed them. The same study found bacteria in 99 percent. Half carried coliform bacteria, and 8 percent carried E. coli - an indicator of fecal contamination.

"I classify them as pretty dirty things, like the bottom of your shoes," said Ryan Sinclair of the Loma Linda University School of Public Health, a co-author of the study.

As the study showed, the reusable bags function as a Petri dish for all kinds of contaminants. Further, three-fourths of their users acknowledged that they don't use separate bags for meats and for vegetables, and about a third said they used the bags for, well, all sorts of things (storing snacks, toting books).

A study by the Centers for Disease Control verified the dangers: "Reusable bags, if not properly washed between uses, create the potential for cross-contamination of foods.

"This potential exists when raw meat products and foods traditionally eaten uncooked (fruits and vegetables) are carried in the same bags, either together or between uses. This risk can be increased by the growth of bacteria in the bags."

What about the environmental benefit? At best, it's smaller than the do-gooders imagine.

It takes less energy to make plastic bags than the canvas ones that the "reusers" usually push - and, in fact, consumers find multiple post-store uses for the plastic, from in-home trash bags to padding in a storage box.

Yes, most wind up in the garbage eventually - but before we restrict them, let's figure out ways to make plastic-bag recycling more efficient - something that the Department of Sanitation has failed to do.

Polls throughout the country find that people overwhelmingly reject bans and regressive taxes. Imagine the results if people knew more about the health threat posed by reusable bags.

Let's shelve the bag fee and search for better ways to aid the environment that don't burden our small businesses and threaten our citizens' health.

Brad Gerstman is a lawyer, lobbyist and co-founder of the New York Association of Grocery Stores.

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The City Council's plan to promote E. coli

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New York City's do-gooders are at it again, this time looking to put a 10-cent fee on each plastic bag that stores normally provide to their customers without charge. This isn't just another burden...

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Scholastic: Plastic Bags: Convenient and Cruel

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Scholastic: Plastic Bags: Convenient and Cruel

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Teaching Kids News: Toronto Bans Plastic Shopping Bags

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Teaching Kids News: Toronto Bans Plastic Shopping Bags

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Toronto is banning plastic shopping bags in stores.

Starting in January 2013, you'll have to bring your own reusable bag to the store to cart your goods away.

More than 250 million bags end up in landfill every year, never breaking down into compost, according to a report by CBC News.

Plastic bags can also clog drainage systems and, when they are washed out to sea, can hurt fish and other marine animals.

Plastic bags are banned or restricted in about a quarter of the countries in the world, according to online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Countries including Italy and South Africa have banned plastic bags. Many large cities have also banned them.

Toronto currently charges five cents per bag-for instance, for people who want a plastic bag to carry their groceries home.

The five-cent fee was put in place to discourage people from using the non-environmentally friendly product. Instead, people are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags to stores.

After Ireland put a fee on plastic bags in 2002, 90 per cent fewer bags were used. In 2010 Washington D.C. began charging five cents per plastic bag and that city's consumption of them went down from 22.5 million to three million in the first month.

In Toronto, the plastic bag fee has cut down on the number of plastic bags used by half, according to Metro newspaper.

A ban was not exactly what Toronto mayor Rob Ford had in mind when he brought up the subject at City Council on Wednesday. In fact, he wanted to end the five-cent fee on bags.

However, Councillor David Shiner proposed a very different motion. He suggested Toronto do away with plastic bags altogether.

That motion passed, 24 to 20. Starting on Jan. 1, 2013, retailers in Toronto will not be allowed to give out or sell any plastic shopping bags, including ones that claim to be "compostable or biodegradable."

According to Metro, "Ford appeared upset after the vote, blinking rapidly." Ford said council's decision didn't make any sense, and said he felt the motion will be overturned.

Council also voted to stop the five-cent fee for plastic bags, from July 1 until the ban takes effect. That means stores will be able to hand out plastic bags free in Toronto for six months.

Ford later told a news radio station that he would like to see Torontonians come down to City Hall to protest the ban. He said he thinks the ban is the dumbest thing Toronto council has ever done.

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly

Writing/Discussion Prompt
What do you think should be done about plastic bags. Should they be free of charge, cost 5 cents, or be banned altogether. Make a jot list of reasons to support your answer.

Reading Prompt: Purpose
Use the information in today's article to write a letter to Toronto's City Counsel. OK, now go ahead... and send send it. Let them know what you think!

Primary, Junior, & Intermediate
Identify a variety of purposes for reading and choose reading materials appropriate for those purposes (OME, Reading: 1.2).

Grammar Feature: Verbs
Verbs are action words. Every sentence includes at least one verb. The verbs authors choose help readers understand the text. Underline the "key" verbs in today's story that help you understand it. How do these verbs affect your understanding?

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Mayor Ford is furious that Toronto's city council voted to ban all plastic bags in 2013. Read the facts and form your own opinion! Kids News

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Science News for Students: Tiny Plastic, Big Problem

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Science News for Students: Tiny Plastic, Big Problem

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Unsightly plastic bottles, bags and other trash give just a hint of the largely unseen problem of plastic pollution. Scientists have found tiny bits of it throughout the ocean. The bad news: Sea life can’t tell the difference between plastic and food.

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Time: California Becomes First State to Ban Plastic Bags

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Time: California Becomes First State to Ban Plastic Bags

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California Becomes First State to Ban Plastic Bags

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Gov. Jerry Brown signed a historic bill on Tuesday, ending a long fight between manufacturers and environmentalists

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YouTube: Paper or Plastic: Which Bags Hurt the Environment More?

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YouTube: Paper or Plastic: Which Bags Hurt the Environment More?

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Drinking water - tap, filtered, or bottled - is important for healthy hydration and plays a vital role in people's lives. Consumers choose bottled water for several reasons, including taste, quality, and convenience.

Bottled water is also an alternative to less-healthy sugary packaged beverages when consumers want to eliminate or moderate calories, caffeine, sugar, artificial flavors or colors, alcohol, and other ingredients from their diets.

Support for public water systems

The bottled water industry supports a strong U.S. public water system (although critics of bottled water would have you believe otherwise). Public water systems are important because they provide citizens with clean and safe drinking water. In fact, many bottled water companies use public water sources for their products - but those products are not just "tap water in a bottle." Once the source water enters the bottled water plant, several processes are employed to ensure that it meets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) purified water standard. These treatments can include utilizing a multi-barrier approach. Measures in a multi-barrier approach may include one or more of the following: reverse osmosis, distillation, micro-filtration, carbon filtration, ozonation, and ultraviolet (UV) light. The finished water product is then placed in a sealed bottle under sanitary conditions and sold to the consumer.

Sometimes, water from public water systems can be compromised after emergency situations or natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, floods, tornados, fires, or boil alerts). During those times, bottled water is a necessary and reliable alternative to deliver clean, safe drinking water. However, tap water does provide, in most cases, a safe source of drinking water, even if occasional system failures make it necessary for consumers to search for alternatives during these times.

Differences in the regulation of tap water and bottled water, though minimal, highlight the differences between drinking water delivered by a public water system and drinking water delivered to the consumer in a sealed container.

Public water systems (tap water) provide quality water for human consumption and other uses (e.g., washing clothes, bathing, and industrial and commercial uses) through a piped distribution system to specific communities. Public water systems are granted exclusive rights to provide water to consumers in a particular geographic or municipal area. Consumers do not, therefore, have a choice of which public water system will provide water to their homes or businesses. The U.S. public water systems are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Bottled water is a packaged food product, regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that is sold in individual, sanitary, sealed containers. It is intended solely for human consumption. Consumers have a variety of bottled water choices available to satisfy their particular tastes and price preferences. It is sold in many different package sizes, including 3- and 5-gallon containers used with bottled water coolers, 2.5-gallon refrigerator-size containers, and "on-the go" half-liter, 1 liter, and 1.5 liter convenience-size packages. Consumers choose bottled water for several reasons: taste, quality, and convenience.

Want some fact-based information about how public water systems and bottled water are regulated? The Drinking Water Research Foundation (DWRF) report "Bottled Water and Tap Water: Just the Facts" provides a detailed side-by-side comparison of quality and monitoring regulations for tap water and bottled water.

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Drinking water - tap, filtered, or bottled - is important for healthy hydration and plays a vital role in people's lives. Consumers choose bottled water for several reasons, including taste, quality, and convenience. Bottled water is also an alternative to less-healthy sugary packaged beverages when consumers want to eliminate or moderate calories, caffeine, sugar, artificial flavors or colors, alcohol, and other ingredients from their diets.

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YouTube: How Are Plastic Bottles and Caps Recycled?

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YouTube: How Are Plastic Bottles and Caps Recycled?

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If playback doesn’t begin shortly, try restarting your device.

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YouTube: Recycling Plastic Water Bottles

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YouTube: Recycling Plastic Water Bottles

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PBS News Hour: Disability Rights Groups Voice Issues with Starbucks’ Plastic Straw Ban as Company Responds

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PBS News Hour: Disability Rights Groups Voice Issues with Starbucks’ Plastic Straw Ban as Company Responds

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An official from Starbucks reached out to disability rights activists on Saturday, the day before a planned protest against its recent ban on plastic straws, in what several disability rights groups said was the start of a direct conversation about the ban.

After Starbucks announced on July 9 it would phase out plastic straws from its stores by 2020, disability rights activists were concerned the policy would exclude some people with disabilities. Several New York City-based groups, including the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled and Disabled in Action, had planned to protest outside a Union Square Starbucks on Sunday after the annual Disability Pride Parade.

"We have something that works. We have something that keeps people alive, and until we have an alternative, this is what we need to use." - Joseph Rappaport, Executive Director at the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled

The activists had hoped the protest would help spread awareness about their concerns, but cancelled it after a phone call with Starbucks Global Director for Environment Rebecca Zimmer, who reached out to the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled to discuss the policy.

"It was clearly a response to our plans to protest," said Joseph Rappaport, Executive Director at the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled (BCID).

Starbucks released a statement on Friday specifying that straws would be available for anyone who asks to use them. "Starbucks offers, and will continue to offer, straws to customers who need or request them in our stores," the statement said.

Leaders from the BCID say they want Starbucks to make sure single-use plastic straws are available, no questions asked, to those who asks for them. On Saturday's call, Zimmer said Starbucks would provide straws to anyone who asked, but didn't confirm they would be plastic, according to Rappaport.

"To be clear, they haven't met our demands, but we're hoping they will after continuing the conversation," Rappaport said.

Zimmer was not available for comment on Sunday. "We are pleased with the outcome and look forward to ongoing conversations on this topic," Sanja Gould, a Starbucks spokesperson, told the NewsHour Weekend via email.

Starbucks' announcement that they would phase all plastic straws out from their stores has gained praise from many environmentalists. But people with disabilities who rely on plastic straws to eat, drink and live their daily lives say banning straws would harm many in their community and that they were not included in the conversation.

"If you think about it, a straw, it seems so small and insignificant. But this seemingly insignificant thing just shows how little those policy makers and business owners pay attention to us, or want to get our feedback," said Sharon Shapiro-Lacks, a BCID board member and executive director of Yad HaChazakah, a Jewish organization that advocates for people with disabilities.

"Eliminating plastic straws can cause many people with disabilities like myself not to be able to eat or drink in a restaurant, in a cafe ... it's more than just a convenience. It is a necessity for people like us," she said.
READ NEXT: Growing advocacy and awareness bringing accessible design to more people than ever
Starbucks isn't the only company taking steps to eliminate plastic straws. Plastic straw bans have become increasingly popular online, with celebrities throwing their weight behind the issue and social media users using the hashtags #stopsucking and #plasticfreeocean to show their support. Companies like McDonalds, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Ikea and Hyatt are working on phasing plastic straws out, too.

Seattle became the first major city to ban straws earlier this month, and others like New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., are considering legislation to do the same. Scotland, Taiwan, Australia and Costa Rica have passed plastic straw legislation, too. Seattle's law enables companies to keep plastic straws for people who require them.

A painful viral video from 2015, which shows a marine biologist removing a plastic straw wedged in a sea turtle's nose, inspired an outpouring of support for plastic straw bans, according to environmentalists working to ban straws. That, plus growing public concern about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and microplastics in oceans and seafood, had made banning straws seem like an easy win to many environmentalists and politicians, according to Rafael Espinal, who authored a bill that would ban plastic straws in New York City.

Starbucks has said they're committed to finding plastic straw alternatives that work for everyone. But disability rights advocates say those may not exist yet. Plastic straws are flexible, durable, and can withstand hot temperatures in case the user needs it to drink hot coffee or soup, for example. As of now, advocates agree no straw alternatives seem to be able to do the same.

"Other types of straws simply do not offer the combination of strength, flexibility, and safety that plastic straws do," said several groups, including Disability Rights Washington and the Seattle Commission for People with Disabilities, in an open letter to the Seattle City Council.

Paper straws get soggy and disintegrate, a potential choking hazard. Biodegradable straws can't handle hot temperatures. Stainless steel straws aren't flexible, and can be potentially dangerous, cutting the mouth and gums if used improperly. If you're someone who has seizures, or poor motor function, or have difficulty controlling muscle groups, steel and glass straws may not be a safe option. And Starbucks' new "adult sippy cups" may not work for people who can't raise a cup to their mouth.

"People want to solve this problem in a nanosecond, and it's not that simple," said Rappaport. "We have something that works. We have something that keeps people alive, and until we have an alternative, this is what we need to use."

Shapiro-Lacks, who has cerebral palsy, recently testified at a New York City Council hearing about not being able to access a straw on an outing with her husband.

"My husband has had to hold the cup to my mouth in order for me to drink in a manner that draws public attention," she said. "This compromises my privacy and dignity."

Starbucks is important because it sets an example for other companies who plan to ban straws, Shapiro-Lacks said.

"If we do reach a good solution with Starbucks, that will be major. And they're if they're off track, it sets a very poor example," she said.
Editor's note: This post has been updated to reflect that an open letter to the Seattle City Council was co-authored by several groups.

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Disability rights groups voice issues with Starbucks' plastic straw ban as company responds

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An official from Starbucks reached out to disability rights activists on Saturday, the day before a planned protest against its recent ban on plastic straws, in what several disability rights groups said was the start of a direct conversation about the ban.

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StarTribune: Blanket Bans on Plastic Straws: Irresponsible, Unnecessary, Immoral

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StarTribune: Blanket Bans on Plastic Straws: Irresponsible, Unnecessary, Immoral

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Gift this Article Send this article to anyone, no subscription is necessary to view it

Senate File 756 was recently introduced in the Minnesota Senate. It would make the unrequested distribution of plastic straws by places of accommodation a petty misdemeanor. The passage of this legislation would be a significant affront to the rights of Minnesotans living with disabilities.

Over the past few years, the environmentalist lobby has made much progress with accomplishments such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Now, faced with a different political climate and the current occupant of the White House, they are taking matters into their own hands where they can, including advocating for cutting pollution like plastic waste. But they are ignoring the unintended consequences, including in the case of plastic straw bans, which in part became popular because of a viral video of a sea turtle that was injured by one.

While protecting our natural resources is important, straw bans are severely misguided. In their shortsighted rush to ban plastic straws, people have missed two critical facts.

First, according to a study published in Marine Policy, straws account for less than 0.03 percent by weight of plastic pollution entering the oceans every year, so the straw ban is symbolic at best.

Second, this is a quality-of-life issue for individuals with disabilities. Able-bodied people see straws as ubiquitous and they don't think about how essential these simple devices are for anyone with a disability.

Without straws, it's impossible for millions of disabled people to go anywhere without worrying about being able to drink, about becoming dehydrated, spilling their drinks or aspirating liquid into their lungs. Individuals with autism also experience oral sensory problems that often are alleviated by the use of a straw.

Where able-bodied people see waste, my community sees a simple device that opens up the world to people with disabilities.

Proponents of the bans will suggest that we use alternatives to plastic straws, such as paper, metal, glass or biodegradable straws. But all of those options have major drawbacks for people with disabilities. For example, metal straws are unusable for people with tremors or sensory issues. Paper straws do not work because they often disintegrate before an individual can finish and they don't handle heat well. Straws made of sugar cane are problematic for diabetics.

Others have suggested that we carry around straws, instead of getting them from restaurants, but that has problems of its own because it's another expense for disabled people, who are already likely to suffer lower income and extremely high medical costs. Plus, there's no way for those straws to be kept sanitary.

The authors argue that the bill language doesn't actually explicitly ban plastic straws, and that one can request a straw or establishments can use any other sort of straw. But business owners aren't going to buy paper straws for some people and plastic straws for others. They're going to get one or the other because of the economic advantages. If plastic straws are more heavily regulated, which one do you think they're going to buy?

The burden of reducing plastic waste by a measly 0.03 percent should not fall on disabled people, who already face barriers to participating in the daily activities of their communities. Yes, we should reduce pollution, but it is unethical to force already marginalized groups to pay the price. We need to search for alternative environmentally friendly solutions. Blanket plastic straw bans are irresponsible, unnecessary, unreasonable and immoral.
Noah McCourt, of Waconia, is policy director of the Minnesota Autism Council and a member of the Governor's Council on Disabilities. He has chaired the state subcommittee on children's mental health since fall 2017.

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Hospitals are playing an outsized role in caring for people with disabilities. As a state and a community, we are not meeting our obligations.

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OPINION EXCHANGE | Blanket bans on plastic straws: Irresponsible, unnecessary, immoral

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Gift this Article Send this article to anyone, no subscription is necessary to view it Senate File 756 was recently introduced in the Minnesota Senate. It would make the unrequested distribution of plastic straws by places of accommodation a petty misdemeanor. The passage of this legislation would be a significant affront to the rights of Minnesotans living with disabilities.

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YouTube: These Scientists Want You to Rethink How You Use Plastic!

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YouTube: These Scientists Want You to Rethink How You Use Plastic!

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USA Today: Plastic Straws: Are There Alternatives?

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USA Today: Plastic Straws: Are There Alternatives?

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Environmental groups and concerned members of the public are attempting to make plastic straws a thing of the past. But many alternatives present other problems for the planet or are unsuitable for people with disabilities, critics say.

Plastic straw bans have made their way into both local and national stages with a movement that gained traction last year. California governor Jerry Brown signed legislation aimed at reducing straw waste, while Seattle has banned all plastic utensils from businesses.

Starbucks will get rid of its straws by 2020, and McDonalds has phased out plastic straws in their UK restaurants, replacing them with paper straws.

Plastic straws are bad for the planet because they "cannot be recycled because of their weight," and thus contribute to the eight million tons of plastic trash that flow every year into the world's oceans, said Dr. Tony Walker, assistant professor of environmental science at Dalhousie University in Canada, to USA TODAY.

Critics have called the government bans too oppressive and have said the statistic many of these bans are based on, that Americans throw away 500 million drinking straws daily, is outdated and unverified.

Over 300 million metric tons of single use plastics - which include plastic bags, cutlery, and yes, straws - are produced annually, and 50% are discarded after a single-use, according to Walker.

But finding a good alternative has proven tricky, with advocates for people with disabilities as well as environmental activists finding fault with many options.

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Communications Director Lawrence Carter-Long told USA TODAY that reusable straws don't work "as well as plastic straws" for people with disabilities.

The disabilities affected by the plastic straw ban "run the gamut," he said, ranging from people with quadriplegia to people with down syndrome or Parkinson's.
That anti-straw movement?:Editorial: Plastic straws ban is quite a straw man It's all based on one 9-year-old's suspect statistic
Most straws pose injury risks, and are expensive, says the Center for Disability Rights.

A 60-year-old U.K. woman with mobility issues died in July after using a metal straw while drinking from a glass with a fixed lid. When she accidentally fell onto the straw, it impaled her left eye socket and pierced her brain.

And two of the most common straw alternatives - paper and metal - have drawn criticism for environmental experts such as Walker.

Paper straws use a lot of raw materials, and because of their single-use nature, do not lessen one's carbon footprint, Walker told USA TODAY.

Stainless steel, on the other hand, uses a fair amount of energy as well as mining resources to make.
Dangers: Laws: McDonald's to test plastic-straw alternatives in U.S. later this year Metal drinking straw fatally impales woman through her eye after fall
"[Single use plastic] straws have been described as a 'gateway plastic', which if curbed, can help change the behavior of consumers and retailers to reduce other SUP items," Walker said in a 2018 study.
Want to be eco-friendly?:20 ways you can save the planet this summer
To be sure, most of the straws use energy or materials that are less than beneficial for the environment. But if you keep them on your person and use them whenever possible, Walker says, you should have a net positive impact.

Forgoing a plastic straw for a reusable one will definitely not singlehandedly save the environment. But if you do not have disabilities and want to cut down on plastic usage, a reusable straw might be for you.

Paper is not included in the below list of good alternatives. Why? Mostly, because it isn't much better for the environment than plastic straws are. They are still a single-use waste item, similar to paper bags.

Here are five of the best options for people who want to stop using plastic straws:

1. Metal

Pros: Metal straws are arguably the most popular of the reusable straws. They come in many varieties, including curved, straight and silicon capped. There's also evidence that metal straws make drinks taste better, and they can beeasily packed and carried around.

Cons: Although there are a variety of metal straws, some of which are cheaper, metal straws tend to be more expensive than other alternatives. They also conduct heat, making them possibly unpleasant to use with hot or cold beverages. Metal straws are also hard to clean, and bacteria or mold can grow inside a dirty straw.

2. Glass

Pros: Glass straws are clear, allowing for easy cleaning - and are dishwasher safe as well. They're also hypoallergenic, safe for people with sensitivities.

Cons: Glass straws break easily - so they may not be the best option for children. Glass is also a conductor of hot and cold liquids, but it maintains similar temperature to the vessel you're drinking out of.

3. Silicon

Pros: Silicone is flexible and soft, meaning these straws don't pose a risk of injury. They also don't leak tiny particles into what you're drinking - something that metal and plastic straws tend to do when they're under heat.It's alsogreat for kids who like to bite down on their straws.

Cons: Silicon isn't known as the most aesthetically pleasing of reusable straws. Make sure to clean them, for the same reason as metal straws.

4. Bamboo
Follow Elinor Aspegren on Twitter: @elinoraspegren.
Pros: Bamboo straws don't conduct heat or cold, so they're a great option for people sensitiveto that. You can also use them whenever you want to pretend you're on vacation.

Cons: These kinds of straws are the hardest of the straws to clean and can have a little bit of a chalky aftertaste. Also, the absorbent bamboo material can soften, warp, and crack if left soaking in liquid.

5. No straw

Pros: Go strawless - You'll be saving money and saving the planet. "Over 95% [of people] are quite okay without straws," Walker says.

Cons: This can cause some spillage, so this may not be the best option for children.

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Plastic straws are trash. Are there alternatives that don't suck?

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Environmental groups and concerned members of the public are attempting to make plastic straws a thing of the past. But many alternatives present other problems for the planet or are unsuitable for people with disabilities, critics say. Plastic straw bans have made their way into both local and national stages with a movement that gained traction last year.