In recent years, many Americans have begun to be conscious about their plastic use and have taken some minor steps in order to reduce their “plastic footprint”. The most talked about and recurring topic to reduce our plastic waste is to stop the use of plastic straws. Plastic straws have become the main symbol or problem that many point to when the conversation about environmental damage due to plastic comes up. In fact, many people believe reducing plastic straws will “save the turtles” because of viral images of turtles harmed by them. Others believe that turtles have been consuming plastic straws by accident as turtles may misidentify straws as their own food source.

More awareness of plastic use has also been brought up through memes, the most common being the “VSCO girl”. VSCO girls represent a specific aesthetic which include wearing an over-sized T-shirt, scrunchies, and carrying around reusable bottles (hydro-flasks) and straws. While this meme is commonly laughed about, it does help spread the conversation about plastic use. 

 With more of this awareness, many have joined the trend in purchasing reusable straws in order to reduce the amount of plastic. The reusable straw market is presumed to grow by six percent by 2029 as a result.

It is estimated that Americans use around 500 million plastic straws in a single day. Many of these straws end up in the ocean alongside other plastic materials such as: cigarette buds, food wrappers, beverage bottles, cups, and plates with plastic bags being the most common. There are around 7.5 million plastic straws in the ocean and 437 million straws on shorelines. While this is a large amount, it only makes up about .2 percent of overall ocean plastic. This amount will continue to grow, as it takes 1,000 years for sunlight to decompose the plastic. 

With the enormous amount of plastic deteriorating the environment already, if Americans completely reduce the use of plastic straws, it just would not be enough. Getting rid of plastic straws use will not even make a dent in the “plastic epidemic” that plagues our Earth.

The entire “get rid of plastic straws” movement is built off of misinformation that was spread across America. Plastic straw reduction will not make as big of a difference on the Earth as many had hoped. “But what about the turtles? Getting rid of plastic would save the turtles!” As a matter of fact, turtles main food source is jellyfish which most closely resembles plastic bags. Most turtles who are harmed by plastic consumption or suffocation is a result of plastic bags.  

It may seem as though the talk about reducing plastic straws use was all for nothing, but it actually did a lot. Plastic straws now serve as a leading image for this new wave of thinking about how humans impact the Earth. Silly arguments on the internet and growing concern of Americans regarding plastic straw use actually got people talking and was the start of conversations of how humans can do better when it comes to plastic use. 

What should Americans do to make a difference in the plastic waste that is being created? Americans should try and reduce ALL single-use plastic materials. Americans have become reliant on plastics, so this reduction can be seen as a complete lifestyle change for many. One person can not change the world, but if a whole country works together, there can be a lasting effect.

If plastic pollution is a topic you would like to learn more about, check out the articles on this website, “A Corny & Fun(gi) Way to Solve Plastic Pollution!” by Valerie Alcala, Layma Khoram, Jesse Bowls, William St. Marseille, Spencer Rasmussen, and Juston Kwart and the article, “What Students Can Do to Save the Planet” by Jakhaylah Jefferson.