Plastic straws should be banned

Erica+Thongkam+9th+grader+sipping+through+subway+plastic+straws.+If+its+not+deposed+of+properly+its+going+to+harm+the+sea+creatures.

Erica Thongkam 9th grader sipping through subway plastic straws. If it’s not deposed of properly it’s going to harm the sea creatures.

Social media star, Bretman Rock thinks that the government should ban plastic straws; he’s right.

A plastic straw is only used until you’re done drinking your drink, then you just trash it, which is a waste. Such trash endangers sea creatures around our island.

In a 2018 TIME article, marine biologist Christine Figgener talked about a video she recorded of her removing a plastic straw from a sea turtle’s nose.

“You were able to show the suffering of a creature that was affected by a straw that someone had disposed of. Definitely that was an object that passed through human hands and made its way to the ocean,” Figgener told Time.

Plastic straws also have unhealthy toxic chemicals. These chemicals go into our bodies when we sip through the straws and can lead to health issues from hormone disruption to cancer. In a 2018 Washington Post article, Christy Brissette wrote, “Chemicals from polypropylene can leach into liquids and may release compounds that could affect estrogen levels, especially when exposed to heat, acidic beverages or UV light.”

  Some people may not like the idea of banning plastic straws because they can’t drink without a straw. An alternative that they can use is paper or metal straws.

Plastic straws should be banned because they not only endanger sea creatures but hurt humans. Hawaii banned plastic bags, so why can’t we ban plastic straws too?