Stainless steel straws alternative to plastic to save marine life
KOTA KINABALU: Junior Chamber International (JCI) Kota Kinabalu has started the ‘Tingkod Noh Plastic Straws’ or ‘Stop Plastic Straws’ project to create awareness and educate the community on the harmful impact of plastic straws on marine life.
Through this project, JCI Kota Kinabalu aims to distribute 30,000 stainless steel straws as an alternative to plastic straws, and to raise RM100,000 to fund divers, ocean clean-ups and other related projects.
Organizing chairperson Chian Mei Hsing said Malaysians alone consumed 31 million plastic straws each day.
Unlike some soft plastics, which can be recycled, she said small items like straws fell through the cracks as they travelled down the conveyor belt at recycling facilities. “This means that straws sit in landfill for years or pollute our oceans and waterways, harming marine life,” she said. “In the ocean, plastic does not bio-degrade. Instead, it simply breaks down into smaller pieces over hundreds of years.
“Fish easily mistake these micro pieces of plastic as food, which eventually end up in our diets,” she said in a press conference here yesterday.
Meanwhile, keynote speaker Nadhirah Mohd Rifai said an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic pollute our oceans every year.
In the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Report 2017, she said plastic straws and stirrers ranked number seven (409,087 pieces) in the top 10 items collected.
Hence, Nadhirah urged the people to refuse plastic straws and encouraged cafes to serve drinks with metal, glass and bamboo straws instead.
“If we do not act now, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.”
On the other hand, Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) Contract and Tender Procurement Unit chief Zainuddin Abd Goyoh, who represented Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai at the event, commended JCI Kota Kinabalu for their effort in helping preserve the beauty of Kota Kinabalu for future generations.
He said the Mayor’s vision was for Kota Kinabalu to be a clean, green and livable city.
“With the influx of tourists to our city, we must do more to continue to preserve the beauty of Kota Kinabalu for all.”
Nook Café, B Side (Lintas branch), Woo!, One Roof, The Bean, Crofters, Tree Monk and Joe Sun are the cafes that have pledged to serve no plastic straws.
Stainless steel straws will be sold at these cafes for those who wish to support the cause.
Also present at the press conference was JCI Kota Kinabalu president Daphne Lo.