20 APR 2018, UN Environment Press Center

In July 2018, customers in Seattle – the largest city in the State of Washington, along the United States’ Pacific Coast – will have to ask for a biodegradable paper straw with their drink, or decide to go without it.

While it’s a small change, it has life-saving implications for the ocean. The so-called Emerald City had already banned plastic utensils and grocery bags, but decided to eliminate single-use plastic straws as well following a “Strawless in Seattle” campaign by the Lonely Whale Foundation, the non-profit founded by UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador Adrian Grenier.

The campaign, which launched in September, encouraged local businesses and their customers to go strawless for a month. The initiative partnered with a marine-friendly degradable straw manufacturer and garnered tremendous support from the public, celebrities and over two hundred restaurants that volunteered to get rid of straws ahead of the ban. Together, they saved 2.3 million straws from reaching the ocean in September alone.

Seattle’s new measure aims to prevent marine litter, which has reached unprecedented levels around the world. Americans use 500 million straws everyday (a billion worldwide), many of which end up in the ocean where they cause harm to sea life or break down into tiny micro-plastics that poison the environment – and ultimately our plates. An estimated 71 per cent of seabirds and 30 per cent of turtles have been found with plastic in their stomach. Once they have ingested plastic, marine life have a mortality rate of 50 per cent.

Out of the many sources of marine litter, plastic straws are not only one of the main culprits but also the easiest to tackle. These accessories that are only used for a few minutes are one of the most commonly found pieces of litter during beach clean-ups.

The plastic pollution crisis can seem daunting, but simple individual actions like refusing single-use plastic straws have a significant impact. Campaigns like “Strawless Ocean” spread optimism by focusing on tiny every-day items that we can easily spare. By starting small, they encourage us to rethink our whole relationship with single-use plastics.

The ban is inspiring cities, businesses and citizens across the United States to follow suit. Coastal cities like Malibu, California are banning plastic straws as well, and restaurants across the country are taking initiatives on their own to play their part. The Lonely Whale Foundation is now taking the campaign worldwide to help 10 cities bid farewell to plastic straws. Nineteen major cities – including Chicago, Berlin and Toronto – are already candidates for the 2018 “Strawless Ocean Tour”.