Plastic Straw
By: JaQuel Davis
Raw Materials
It's made from polypropylene which is extracted by a Soxhlet extractor and dissolution and precipitation. Polypropylene is renewable because of "Green Propylene", a form of Polypropylene made from renewable resources like sugarcane.
The Laws & The Activism
Activists are saying that the impact on the environment from plastic straws is bad because they are killers of sea animals. The government has laws over food packing, oils, gas and plastic waste. The government has funded companies to made straws out of glass or biodegradable plastics. Making it out of glass could expand the life cycle for a longer time period.
Should people use different straws than regular straws?
I think yes that people should use different types of straws like glass or biodegradable ones to help with saving the environment marine life. Plastic is one of the main killers of marine life. They consume it and get it stuck somewhere where it could harm them. If we use biodegradable they will decompose before harming an animal and if we use glass straws it won’t harm those animals because it will be in our homes and not in the ocean.
Negative Impacts
Some negative impacts to plastic straws are that they could choke sea animals or get stuck in their wind pipes and make some of them drown. If it's sharp and goes far enough through the nose it could damage the animals brain, or kill them instantly.
Possible Positive Impacts
If everyone started using biodegradable or glass straws for the rest of their lives then there would probably be less death for sea animals or animals in general.
The End of the Life Cycle
Some straws are biodegradable, compostable, and can be reused(depending on what type of straw). Between 22% and 43% of landfills are taken up by plastic straws. Glass straws can be reused anytime, as long as you boil it before every use. Biodegradable straws are like standard straws; meant to be used once.