Explanation: Should NZ ban plastic straws?

Greetings all. Do you enjoy using divine, mess free plastic straws? Well… A single drinking straw is actually affecting our environments in New Zealand. Each day nearly 500 million plastic straws are being used. A quarter of this amount is from New Zealand as 65,000 straws have been found on our beaches. Plastic straws pollute our oceans, land and air. But the problem gets even worse when they break down into small particles which releases their chemicals everywhere.

Did you know that plastic straws are actually one of the main reasons why the digestive systems of many marine animals are damaged? That the air slowly gets more polluted each day when these straws break down into many chemicals? All these problems can and are still being caused by plastic straws. Most plastic straws don’t biodegrade in the ocean and they are being consumed by poor animals that live in the sea or on land! This is just cruel and absolutely disgusting to the many animals that are living their lives with plastic straws in their bodies and slowly killing them, all because of us. Although, not only is this affecting innocent creatures lives but also the land we live on and the air we breathe.

Imagine the amount of pollution that is spreading around New Zealand, imagine the pain poor creatures endure nearly each day and imagine how you would feel if a single plastic straw corrupts your digestive system. This is because of our actions. Even if we only use just one a day it still increases the amount of plastic straws that are harming the earth.

Currently, companies such as fast food restaurants around New Zealand are banning plastic straws to eliminate the amount of straws we use each day. Sure it may be a bit more mess free and enjoyable to use but the amount of harm it does is insane. Also, people around New Zealand are helping by using metal straws. They can be reused over and over again and they can be put away until your next drink.

Plastic straws are affecting New Zealand and I say we should put a stop to this. If we stop using plastic straws the number of them harming the earth will decrease and save our environment from bigger trouble. You could save the life of a single creature right now by not using plastic straws. So give it a try for the sake of New Zealand!