by Kryssel Villaruz: Co-Editor in Chief
Recent controversies regarding plastic straw bans have drawn focus to the products itself and to its distribution in businesses and public venues. Plastic straws were originally created as a temporary solution to the difficulties of the elderly, the disabled, and the hospitalized in being able to consume fluids. But for how much longer are such individuals going to turn to plastic straws? What are the problems in using plastic straws anyway? Well, the buoyancy of plastic straws that allow it to travel outside of bins into the environment is problematic. Online sources declared 8 million tons of of plastic products end up in landfills, oceans, and streams each year, and 100 million marine animals die annually because of it (plasticoceans.org and conserveturtles.org). In addition, biodegradable and substitute straws have other issues- not being sanitary, posing cutting risks, and having potentially fatal food allergies. So if no kind of straw is 100% effective, we should ban plastic straws. Wrong. Plastic straws are an essential part of life to several members of the disabled community. During times when plastic straws are not available to them, they often cannot drink. The problem is not the plastic product itself, but that the majority of people use the plastic creation for convenience rather than for necessity and do not recycle it. Academy of Medical Arts (AMA) junior, Shekina Villacrusis, stated, “I think some people don’t recycle because they’re too lazy to collect it, bring it home, [and] bring it to the recycling center”. Senior student Kamryn Alferos from AMA claimed, “People are ignorant to the fact that if you don’t recycle, it’ll pollute the world.” The lack of effort to properly dispose of plastic waste contributes to pollution, releasing gases that take years to fully disintegrate into the atmosphere, but most people couldn’t care less about it. Carson High School’s (CHS) senior Jasmine Hurtado, who is co-president of the Go Green Club- an organization at the Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology (ESET) academy that helps with the beautification of the school and the community- believes the issue stems from “…lack of knowledge [of what’s recyclable and what isn’t].” In fact, when asked if they knew any policies regarding the matter of recycling, Villacrusis and Alferos, along with junior student Khameron Belleza from CHS, said, “No, I don’t.” But Hurtado mentioned that “…in school we don’t force people [to recycle], but we try to provide as many blue trash cans for kids to recycle more often.” The idea of making recycling bins just as abundant as trash cans and encouraging people to recycle starting at a young age are especially important in both private homes and public venues. Making an effort to recycle, promote recycling, and create a secure disposal bin made specifically for lightweight recyclables are the best ways to prevent plastic waste from doing harm to our world- not banning necessities for the handicapped or disabled. We must consider where our trash ends up, be as eco-friendly as possible, and remember to recycle and spread awareness!