The Life Cycle of a Plastic Straw by Aidan Samples https://padlet.com/samplesaidan100/y4dk19c1x4q77utu Made with the best of intentions en-us 2021-03-10 19:16:50 UTC 2021-03-10 19:39:36 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f3f3.png Step 1 - How Plastic Straws are Made samplesaidan100 https://padlet.com/samplesaidan100/y4dk19c1x4q77utu/wish/1294782742 Plastic straws are made from the petroleum bi-product polypropylene which does not biodegrade naturally in the environment. Colorants and plasticizers are added to the product in the factory. Then the oil-based product is usually individually wrapped in paper or plastic and then boxed to be shipped (using more petroleum) to their next destination, and then shipped again to their final destination.



]]> 2021-03-10 19:21:08 UTC https://padlet.com/samplesaidan100/y4dk19c1x4q77utu/wish/1294782742 Step 2 - Where Plastic Straws are Used samplesaidan100 https://padlet.com/samplesaidan100/y4dk19c1x4q77utu/wish/1294793829 After being shipped off, they are get placed for sale. Daily, 500 million single-use straws are used in the United States alone, enough to fill 127 school buses.]]> 2021-03-10 19:23:25 UTC https://padlet.com/samplesaidan100/y4dk19c1x4q77utu/wish/1294793829 Step 3 - Where do they go once used? samplesaidan100 https://padlet.com/samplesaidan100/y4dk19c1x4q77utu/wish/1294799523 Plastic straws are not easily recycled. So what happens then? Some straws are incinerated, which adds toxic chemicals into the atmosphere. Most straws go into landfills where they live forever since plastic isn't biodegradable. When buried in the ground, straws leach harmful chemicals into the soil and groundwater.

The rest end up floating into streams, rivers and eventually the ocean. There they find their way into gyers and are broken down into tiny bits and ingested by marine mammals and other sea life. It is estimated that 100,000 Marine Mammals and countless fish are killed by plastic pollution every year.

]]> 2021-03-10 19:24:35 UTC https://padlet.com/samplesaidan100/y4dk19c1x4q77utu/wish/1294799523 Step 4 - What now? samplesaidan100 https://padlet.com/samplesaidan100/y4dk19c1x4q77utu/wish/1294809003 Plastic Straws after reaching their final destination, whether it be the ocean or a landfill, either sit and "decay", or other people may attempt to pick them up, just to have them be moved from one location to another. ]]> 2021-03-10 19:26:31 UTC https://padlet.com/samplesaidan100/y4dk19c1x4q77utu/wish/1294809003