War on plastic leaves manufacturers clutching at straws

PARIS — For decades, plastic straws have been essential props for cocktail makers, smoothie lovers and fast food addicts.

But that may be starting to change, thanks largely to vigorous environmental campaigning.

Under pressure from activists, the European Union, Britain, India and fast food giants like McDonald’s have all made some headway toward bringing the use of plastic straws to an end.

And with public pressure growing on governments, particularly in Europe, to ban single-use plastics, manufacturers are feeling the heat.

According to peer-reviewed US journal Science magazine, 8 million tons of plastic are dumped into the oceans and seas each year — 250 kilograms every second.

For years, the focus of environmentalists has been on plastic bags. But plastic straws have now come into the spotlight, thanks in part to images that have gone viral on the internet.

One online video about the danger posed by seemingly innocuous straws shows a sea turtle rescued off Costa Rica getting one removed from its nostril.

The British government in April said it planned to ban the sale of single-use plastics including straws.

The European Union suit in late May.

In India’s commercial capital Mumbai, Burger King, followed McDonald’s and Starbucks were fined for violating a ban on single use plastics, an official said earlier in June.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to make his country free of single use plastic by 2022.

Some corporations are also taking steps. In the UK and Ireland, McDonald’s has pledged to complete a transition to paper straws by 2019.

But while Europe takes the lead with biodegradable plastics made either from fossil fuels or crops such as potatoes and corn, activists fear that such biowaste may end up in the oceans — much like plastic has for decades.

Fiona Nicholls of Greenpeace believes humanity’s only hope is to reduce our use of plastics.

“Swapping one plastic for another ... is not a fix to the plastic pollution problem that our oceans and waterways face,” she said.