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Persuasive Essay On Plastic Straws

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Americans use over 500 million plastic straws every single day—that’s enough to circle the earth’s circumference 2.5 times (Ives et al 2017). By 2050, there will be more plastic debris in the ocean than fish (Kaplan 2016). These staggering statistics are unacceptable and it is our duty to find a realistic, sustainable solution to the issue. Plastic pollution is one of today’s most pressing problems, and minimizing the use of straws is a feasible and realistic step in the right direction. Although the problem of pollution is widely understood, the extent of the damage by plastic straws is not as known or acknowledged. Education of children and adults is an integral component of shifting cultural norms and mindsets. With a more informed population, people will be more likely to refuse and forgo plastic utensils. Furthermore, businesses and influential icons play a vital role in this opportunity. Some restaurants give out both a cup and straw as a mere convenience and a no-straw policy implementation in such businesses can make a big difference. By initially targeting coastal areas of the United States to adopt eco-friendly methods, eventually this transition could inspire a nation-wide law to ban plastic straws to globally shift society-environment interactions to sustainability. While eliminating plastic straws entirely is ideal, it is difficult to make an abrupt shift; an attainable solution is to gradually switch to bio-degradable and eco-friendly straws like glass, metal,

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