Bryan Skorczewski
Will banning plastic straws solve the problem of pollution in Florida’s oceans?
In Tampa and St. Pete, many restaurants have stopped serving plastic straws.
While reducing single use plastics is a noble goal, plastic straws do not make
up a great deal of the pollution in the ocean. In fact, it is believed that
drinking straws may only make up less than 0.5% of plastic in the ocean[1]. The
biggest offender? Fishing nets and
supplies. In fact, the majority of plastic in the ocean comes from the fishing
industry[2].
I recently saw a video that was heartbreaking. The video centers on a sea turtle, with something stuck in its nose. One person holds the turtle, while another uses pliers to attempt to retrieve what is initially thought of as some sort of worm, but later is found to be a plastic straw. Early in the video, blood comes out of the turtle’s nose.
It’s a hard video to watch. No reasonable person likes to see creatures in pain. It is one of several videos in recent years to come out, showing the devastation that plastic in the ocean causes. It is also one of the main videos that opponents of plastic straws have used in order to ban them in multiple cities.
While switching from plastic straws to paper or metal straws will reduce
plastic consumption in Hillsborough County, ensuring that fishing nets are not
left in the ocean will have a far greater effect. While governments may have the most power in
preventing companies and corporations from writing off lost nets in favor of
profit, consumers and non-profit organizations still can effect change.
Consumers can reduce their consumption of seafood, or seek companies that
either engage in sustainable catches or use fish farms to raise the sea
creatures sold[3]. Not only
is having plastic-free oceans good for the creatures that live in the water,
but, as the Tampa Bay region depends heavily on tourism and fishing for its
taxes and trade, it is fiscally responsible to do so.
There are many ways to reduce a person’s plastic footprint. Choosing to use
cloth bags for shopping, a metal straw, or a glass water bottle are all
switches a person can make in the Tampa area. By buying once and reusing,
rather than continually purchasing, consumers reduce overall expenses. Having
plastic bags rolling around our streets like tumbleweeds doing aerial
acrobatics is not the kind of attraction Tampa visitors came to see.
The popular phrase “reduce, reuse, and recycle” holds true. Reducing
consumption is the primary method of reducing a consumer’s personal pollution.
Reusing goods is the second most important part of the triangle, and this is
due to prolonging the lifespan of goods. Rather than simply using something
once and throwing it away, reusing keeps objects out of landfills and out of
the water. The last section is recycle. We have been told all our lives that
recycling is important. But we don’t know for sure if that is completely true,
especially if recycled goods are recycled “down” rather than into the same type
of product.[4] Combine
this with the fact that many recycling centers will simply throw away
“contaminated lots.” An example of this is a single greasy pizza box can cause
all the cans you saved to simply be thrown into a landfill. While people should
still do their best, be certain of the rules of what can and cannot be included
in your bins. For instance, many may not know that Tampa requires recyclables
to be loose – i.e. not bagged[5].
This piece isn’t meant to make anyone feel like there is no hope. Far from it.
The hope is that we know what must be done, and what can be done. The hard part
is simply getting people to do it.
According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we
have less than 12 years to work to keep climate change within 1.5 degrees
Celcius[6] to avoid
the worst of climate change’s effects. We need to act now. Reducing plastic consumption not only
prevents greenhouse gases being released from manufacturing and distribution,
it also prevents plastic from ending up in a turtle’s nose or a dolphin’s
stomach.
[1] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/07/news-plastic-drinking-straw-history-ban/
[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-06-07/plastic-straws-aren-t-the-problem
[3] https://www.seafoodwatch.org/ocean-issues/fishing-and-farming-methods
[4] https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a3752/4291566/
[5] https://www.tampagov.net/solid-waste/programs/recycling-and-waste-reduction/residential
[6] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report