Banning the Plastic

There are many companies that organize and exercise to prohibit certain plastics such as bags and straws to reduce the amount of plastics produced each year and to protect our environment and marine life. Every year, 100,000 marine animals die or get entangled with marine garbage, and most of the garbage causes troubles in various forms of plastics.

Most plastic bags can take up to 20 years to disintegrate, and yet there is still a small plastic that does not biodegrade. Over the last two decades, marine animals may mistake them for food or be accidentally caught in them. When everyone in the world recycles plastic bags every year, it will be 7 billion plastic bags, they will never reach the ocean, which may be a confusing turtle lunch

Every day, people around the world use 500 million straws. In 2012, Miami Beach banned the use of plastic straws at beachfront restaurants and hotels, provided plastic straws and beverages. A plastic straw on the beach can also be fined between $ 50 and $ 500. Some people think that it is absurd to ban such small plastic pieces, but Miami Commissioner Jorge Expod ​​talked about a new era against Miami. He thinks that they eventually take a step in the right direction and leave a better world for our children - and the 4 Ocean team can not agree more! Because Miami Beach is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the US, millions of straws are not used each year, they do not reach our ocean, threats to vulnerable marine life .

The footprints of Miami Beach are California. And they took a big step in eliminating the use of plastics. As of November 2016, plastic bags are completely banned throughout California. Proposal 67 was passed and 52% of voters voted to prohibit the use of disposable plastic bags throughout the state. This is the first state in the 50 US states that took this bold step to reduce annual plastic output. Big Pacific Garbage Patch is increasing every day, with a lot of trash near the coast of California. Prohibiting the use of disposable plastic bags is an important step in reducing the number of plastic bags entering the ocean every day.

Some of the voters welcomed Seattle and San Francisco politicians to prohibit the use of plastic straws in the near future and they prohibited the use of plastic bags a few years ago. California became the first country to ban plastic bags in 2016, New York and New Jersey are considering similar legislation, Slovenia and New Zealand countries are planning to ban them in 2019. Legal supporters banning plastic products encourage politicians to make meaningless gestures. Rather than focusing on eliminating plastic and other waste from the ocean. According to a 2015 survey by Science magazine, about 480 to 12.7 million tons of plastic from 192 coastal countries all over the world are imported into the ocean, 0.9% of which are from the United States.

Plastic ban is now popular. Some countries prohibit the use of various plastic products aimed at combating marine plastic contamination. According to the BBC, the European Parliament voted to prohibit the use of disposable plastic such as plastic cutlery and straw in early October. On 26th July, Walt Disney announced that as a part of "Journey of Environmental Management" it will eliminate disposable plastic straws and blenders in all areas by mid-2019. Disney also plans to reduce other plastic products and cruise ships in the hotel, as well as cups of plastic bags and polystyrene foam.

How much disposable plastic straw contributes to worldwide plastic waste and global pollution? According to a recent report by environmental group Better Alternatives Now (BAN), plastic straws and blenders (which are combined in this report, but not all ban) contain about the plastic items found along the California coastline Includes 7%. Compared with 9% plastic bags and 17% plastic bottle caps, it is a plastic block that can not be ignored. However, according to the report by Jambeck Research Group, according to the report by weight, plastic straws accounted for only 0.03% of the total plastic in the sea, suggesting that straw is excessive on the coastline due to the lightness and buoyancy of the straw .