Millions of straws are used every day around the world. Many of these are used for just a few minutes, then are simply thrown away. In fact plastic straws are one of the top 10 items found in beach clean ups.
I’ve seen this for myself. When I was in the Philippines last year, I collected more than 50 straws from a small area of a beach in just 20 minutes.
In the ocean, plastic does not biodegrade. Instead it just breaks down into smaller pieces over hundreds of years, and it’s impossible to clean up. With up to 12 million tonnes of plastic clogging up the oceans every year, it’s no wonder wildlife is facing the brunt of the impacts.