Go for Plastic Straw Alternatives!

Drop Single Use Plastic Straws to Save the Planet
Every minute, one garbage truck worth of plastic waste is dumped into the ocean. Yearly, a colossal 1.4 billion pounds of trash ends up in our beautiful oceans. Of this waste, much of it is plastic. It's highly noticeable that plastic bans are gaining a lot of momentum. Several countries, in the name of combating plastic pollution in the ocean, have begun banning and implementing taxes on various one-use plastic products like bottles, and bags. The most recent ban was that in Starbucks where on the 9th of July, Starbucks announced that it would go for plastic straw alternatives and would eliminate single-use plastic straws in all its branches over the next year.
Plastic straws have always been around, in most beverages we order, from soft drinks to water, one would find a small plastic straw attached. At first, it does not seem like a big deal, would something as small as a plastic straw impact the environment in any way? The answer is yes.
Plastic straws are dispensable!
Americans use around 500 million straws every day, most of which end up in the oceans, polluting them and killing the marine life. This video with an endangered species of sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nostril is an eyeopener for how damaging plastic straws can be to the marine life. Furthermore, a study by StrawlessOcean.org has shown that around 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles have been found with plastic in their stomachs and if the plastic is ingested, marine life has just a 50% chance of survival.
Why are plastic straws in specific so terrible, though? One could ask. First of all, most straws aren't recyclable as they're too lightweight and often don't make it to the recycling sorter so they end up polluting both earth and ocean. Another thing is that disposable straws are usually made from plastic and plastic never breaks down. As time goes by plastic will separate into smaller and smaller pieces, but never completely biodegrades. Lastly, tons of plastic straws are hugely littered on beaches, which means that they inevitably find their way into the water.
Another question that one could ask would be "What can I do to save the planet?" Well, for starters, you can ditch plastic straws and opt for an eco friendly alternative to plastic straws.
There are many plastic straw alternatives that one could use to reduce the waste and damage done to the ocean and here are 12 of them:
When it comes to plastic, one can always make some significant changes to their lifestyle that will help reduce the damaging effects it has on the environment and its creature, so next time you’re having a drink, drop the plastic straw and take a small step towards saving the planet. Don't make the mistake to use the X billion straws a year.