For decades, plastic straws have been essential props for cocktail makers, smoothie lovers and fast food addicts
\nFor decades, plastic straws have been essential props for cocktail makers, smoothie lovers and fast food addicts.
\nBut that may be starting to change, thanks largely to vigorous environmental campaigning.
\nUnder pressure from activists, the European Union, Britain, India and even fast food giants like McDonald\u2019s have all made some headway towards bringing the use of plastic straws to an end.
\nAnd with public pressure growing on governments, particularly in Europe, to ban single use plastics, manufacturers are feeling the heat.
\nAccording to peer-reviewed US journal Science magazine, eight million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the Earth\u2019s oceans and seas each year \u2014 250 kilogrammes (550 pounds) every second.
\nFor years, the focus of environmentalists has been on plastic bags. But plastic straws have now come into the spotlight, thanks in part to images that have gone viral on the internet.
\nOne online video about the danger posed by seemingly innocuous straws shows a sea turtle rescued off Costa Rica getting one removed from its nostril.
\nThe British government in April said it planned to ban the sale of single-use plastics including straws.
\nThe European Union followed suit in late May.
\nIn India\u2019s commercial capital Mumbai, Burger King, McDonald\u2019s and Starbucks were fined for violating a ban on single use plastics, an official said earlier in June.
\nIndia\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to make his country free of single use plastic by 2022.
\nSome corporations are also taking steps.
\nIn the UK and Ireland, McDonald\u2019s has pledged to complete a transition to paper straws by 2019. In France, the burger giant is testing alternatives.
\nThe Hilton hotel giant in May vowed to remove the offenders from its 650 properties by the end of 2018.
\n\u201cLaid end to end, the straws saved each year in (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) would exceed the length of the River Seine,\u201d the hotel chain said in a statement. There are alternatives to plastic straws, but they are much pricier.
\nThe five-star Monte Carlo Palace hotel in Monaco has introduced biodegradable straws.
\nOthers are using raw pasta and bamboo sticks.
\nThe United States is resisting change while Europe takes the lead with biodegradable plastics made either from fossil fuels or crops such as potatoes and corn.
\nSome 100,000 tonnes of bioplastics were produced in 2016 in the world, according to Germany\u2019s specialist Nova-Institute.
\nIn 2017, biodegradable plastic production capacity rose to 800,000 tonnes globally, the European Bioplastics industrial group said.
\nAnd while this may appear to be a step in the right direction, manufacturers are concerned about the impact outright bans would have on their sales.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not a very good sign,\u201d said Herve Millet, technical and regulatory affairs manager at PlasticsEurope, the region\u2019s leading plastics manufacturers\u2019 association.
\n\u201cBut \u2026 big corporations also have concerns over their image and they must at least try to find a way to respond to society\u2019s expectations.\u201d
\nEurope\u2019s top plastic straws manufacturer Soyez, which is based in France, is also uncertain about how to make the transition.
\n\u201cThe problem isn\u2019t new and it\u2019s serious, so we obviously need to find alternatives,\u201d the company\u2019s director Pierre Soyez said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For decades, plastic straws have been essential props for cocktail makers, smoothie lovers and fast food addicts For decades, plastic straws have been essential props for cocktail makers, smoothie lovers and fast food addicts. But that may be starting to change, thanks largely to vigorous environmental campaigning. Under pressure from activists, the European Union, Britain, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-28004","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n