The last straw

The plastic straw ban movement is a drive that is not only transforming into a possible worldwide policy, but is also a way to hold individuals accountable for the environment.

This new movement advocates for individuals to minimise waste, especially plastic waste. It raises awareness that most, if not all, the plastic that we use, goes into the ocean as waste. It is not biodegradable and just floats around like debris in the ocean, poisoning the very thing that gives us life. Many sea creatures as well as birds have been fatally harmed due to the inordinate amount of plastic in our oceans. But while the trend of using reusable items like metal straws is definitely worth following, it does divert the blame from the real perpetrators who have polluted our oceans.

Big corporations and chemical industries discharge large amounts of waste, which is only very minimally treated, and always ends up in the ocean.

More than 40 per cent of the plastic content in the ocean comes from fishing nets left by big fishing corporations. Deformed or malfunctioning plastic paraphernalia is also discarded into the ocean by industries. Individuals should definitely leave behind an eco-friendly footprint and lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Multinational corporations shouldn’t be held any less accountable for the amount of waste that they generate and the method in which they discard it. We need to put more pressure on the chief executive officers of such companies and make sure they follow an eco-friendly method of production and waste disposal.

■ The reader is a student in Dubai.