Although plastic straws are small, they are difficult to recycle, which will cause serious harm to our environment and other organisms. Faced with the global challenges brought by disposable plastic pollution, many governments around the world have set off a 'plastic limit' boom this year. The giants have also stopped supplying or promised to no longer supply plastic straws.
Introduced 'plastic limit order'
Recently, the United States KFC, South Korea's well-known chain coffee shop 'An Qi Linuo coffee' and so on have stopped providing plastic straws in the store; McDonald's also planned to be in the UK in 2019, Irish stores use paper straws, try some stores in the United States Plastic straws; all coffee chain stores under Starbucks plan to bid farewell to plastic straws by 2020, and are expected to reduce more than 1 billion plastic straws per year.
The British government announced earlier this year that it plans to promote a new 'plastic limit order' in England to completely ban the sale of plastic straws, plastic stir bars and cotton swabs with plastic rods and other disposable plastic products.
In May of this year, the European Commission proposed a 'plastic limit order' scheme, recommending the ban of disposable plastic products such as plastic straws, and replacing the plastic straws with straws made of more environmentally friendly and sustainable materials.
Before the EU ban was officially launched, many supermarkets in Germany have launched the 'plastic limit' program. The German Reway Group and the supermarket chain Liddell announced in July that they will stop providing plastic straw products at the sales outlets. Deka' also expressed the need to develop reusable items to replace disposable plastic products.
More and more local governments in the United States are also addressing the environmental problems that plastic pipettes may bring. Some cities in Florida, New Jersey and California have banned plastic straws. In July this year, Seattle became the first to ban plastic straws. Major cities in the United States. New York City, San Francisco and other cities have also introduced legislation to ban plastic straws.
Small straw big hazard
At present, the consumption of plastic straws in the world is staggering. In the United States alone, about 500 million plastic straws are discarded every day. The total length of the joints can be two and a half times around the earth.
Because plastic straws are difficult to reuse, most food and beverage stores do not classify them as recyclable waste. Therefore, the final fate of plastic straws falls into landfills or floats on the ocean. The life of a plastic straw is only about 20 Minutes, it takes more than 200 years to naturally degrade into small molecules. Plastic straws that enter the waters are often eaten by sea turtles, seabirds, fish and other animals.
British Environment, Minister of Food and Rural Affairs Michael Goff said in a statement that disposable plastic products are a scourge to the ocean, causing serious damage to the environment and wildlife. People must take action now to protect the marine ecology. The British waste disposal company 'commercial waste' lists plastic straws as 'hard to recycle' items, calling it 'the ultimate waste of mankind'.
Statistics show that more than 8 million tons of plastic waste enters the ocean every year, including plastic straws, causing serious impacts on marine life, fisheries, and tourism, causing economic losses of $8 billion. Plastic waste causes millions of seas each year. Birds, 100,000 marine mammals and countless fish deaths. Studies have shown that if the status quo is ignored, by 2050, the weight of plastic waste in the ocean will exceed the total weight of fish.
Plastic waste not only harms marine life, but also threatens human health. Plastic waste will gradually break down in the ocean, forming a large number of micro-plastic particles less than 5 mm in diameter. The micro-plastic particles themselves contain toxic and harmful substances and are toxic and harmful in water. The substance will accumulate through the food chain and may eventually enter the body.
Advocate rejection of disposable plastic products
Penny Lyndeck, a molecular biologist at the Plymouth Institute of Oceanography in the United Kingdom, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that the 'plastic limit order' will help consumers change the habit of using plastic straws, and consumers will soon be able to adapt to alternatives. If more and more companies promote alternatives such as paper straws, the cost of replacement may be reduced, and the cost factor will not make it difficult for merchants to comply with the 'plastic limit order'.
On this year's World Environment Day, the United Nations issued a message calling on consumers to refuse to use disposable plastic products, purchase recyclable goods, and develop reasonable consumption habits in their lives. Consumers should not only play the role of participants, but should also promote Drivers and retailers' behavioral drivers of change.