23. Some scientists were studying sea turtles in Costa Rica in Central America. Suddenly they found one turtle had something sticking out of its nose. It could not breathe. At first, the scientists thought it was a worm. But when they pulled the object out, it was a plastic straw.
The waste created by plastic straws is unbelievable. In the United States alone, 500 million straws are thrown away every day. That's enough straws to circle the Earth twice, or fill 125 school buses. Plastic straws are almost never recycled because they're too small and could be made from several different types of plastic. Many of them end up as litter in our streets or worse, plastic waste in our oceans. They aren't the biggest polluter of our waterways, but they can be some of the most dangerous to sea animals. Their size makes them easy for fish or birds to eat. About 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles are found with plastic in their stomachs. When these animals eat the plastic, they have a 50% mortality rate (死亡率).
Milo Cress is a boy from Vermont, America, who wanted to reduce (减少) and possibly end the use of plastic straws in restaurants. In 2011, at the age of 9, he founded the Be Straw Free project, which focuses on building awareness (意识) about plastic waste and its effect on the environment.
"I noticed that whenever I ordered a drink at a restaurant, it would usually come with a straw in it, and I don't usually need a straw," Milo said. He started asking the local restaurant owners to stop providing the customer with a straw unless he or she asks for one. Many of them agreed and joined the movement. By doing that, the restaurants report a reduction in the number of straws they use between 50 and 80%.
Drinking with a straw is fun. But think twice. For anyone who really likes to use a straw, there are several ways to go. The best one is trying a reusable one, which can be washed along with dishes. Bamboo, metal and glass can be used to make reusable straws. Another one is to use paper straws, which are recyclable and can be found in attractive colors and patterns. With choices available, there's no reason to add to the plastic straw waste problem.