7 reasons you should not use plastic structs now

7 REASONS YOU SHOULD NOT USE PLASTIC STRUCTS NOW.

Plastic straws are quite familiar items to all of us. Almost everyone uses them every day, especially coffee, milk tea and soft drinks stores. But few people know that plastic straws are ranked as one of the most common types of waste in the world and ranked 6th on the list of non-biodegradable waste. It severely affects the land environment, water environment, marine ecosystem and human health. Let's find out 7 reasons you should stop using plastic straws today.
The current state of plastic straws

It's easy to see plastic straws in our everyday lives. The number can be up to hundreds of thousands or hundreds of millions.
• USA: 500 million plastic straws are used every day. Accordingly, the average American will use 1.7 plastic straws / day and about 35,000 plastic straws in their lifetime.
• Vietnam: Currently, there are no official statistics from any organization on the amount of plastic straws used every day in Vietnam. However, based on the number of nearly 2 million tons of plastic waste produced each year, it can be seen that the number of plastic straws Vietnam discharges into the environment is also a large number. Particularly for plastic products, in 2017, Vietnam was in the top 5 countries that discharge the most plastic waste into the sea in the world, according to statistics of the Ocean Conservancy.
• India: Every day, India discharges about 26,000 tons of plastic waste into the environment, mainly straws and plastic bags. Currently, India is ranked 15th in the world for plastic waste pollution.
• UK: It is estimated that at least 4.4 billion plastic straws are thrown away every year.

In particular, straws are used most often in restaurants, hotels, and cafes.

7 reasons not to use plastic straws

1. Plastic straws are destructive weapons of marine species.
Plastic waste when dumped into the sea will destroy or degrade biodiversity, kill marine life if they are accidentally caught or eaten.
According to a report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) it is estimated that more than 100 million marine animals have died due to plastic waste. In which, more than 260 species of marine life have been entangled or eaten by plastic waste, including large creatures such as whales.

2. Hidden many diseases dangerous to humans.
Plastic straws manufactured by industrial lines have potential hazards to human health. You do not know what materials to produce plastic straws. Where do these ingredients come from, are they safe or not.
Moreover, plastic straws are manufactured with BPA and contain many toxic substances that can increase and develop cancer cells in humans, cause early puberty disorders, and obesity. When using plastic straws with hot drinks, harmful substances will "accumulate", causing direct harm to the human body.
3. Causing serious environmental pollution.
Plastic straws are ranked in the top of the most difficult to decompose waste in the world. It will take an average of 100 - 500 years to completely decompose. It causes serious pollution of land and water environment.

4. Dirty plastic straws are reused many times.
Surely you have never thought of this, right? There are many beverage businesses and eateries for their own profit that reuse old straws without customers knowing these things. Try to imagine when the previous user had respiratory and oral diseases that could be contagious, it would be scary, right?

5. Plastic straws are difficult to recycle.
One more reason for you not to use plastic straws because it is not recyclable and very difficult to recycle. The straw is made from polypropylene plastic, also known as grade 5 plastic, so it can be recycled. But most facilities do not accept recycling because:
• Plastic straws are too small, thin and can be bent. They are easy to fall into the cracks and crevices of the recycling machine. This can lead to unnecessary damage and repairs.
• Plastic straws are also too light, so sorting by machine is very complicated. If they do not pass the sorting stage, the plastic straws will not be recycled forever.
• The cost and cost of producing new plastic straws are cheaper than recycling costs. Therefore, recycling plastic straws seems unnecessary.
Used plastic straws are also difficult to collect because they are so small and light.

6. Very long decomposition time
Plastic takes a long time to decompose in the natural environment. It can only be broken down to a microscopic size, but not completely.

7. Plastic straws send thousands of people to the hospital every year.
According to statistics, in the US there are up to 1,400 hospitalizations each year because of plastic straws and the main target is children under 12 years old. In addition to reasons such as being made from unsafe materials leading to the risk of disease, plastic straws are quite hard and sharp. During use, unfortunately, the tip of the straw will hurt the gum or jaw area.