A preamble before we get down to business. It doesn’t matter if you’re a climate activist, denier or someone who just doesn’t care. This article isn’t about taking sides. It’s about looking straight at the facts, talking common sense, and hopefully, we’ll be able to make the world a more livable place.

In the last decade, one of the milestones of the environmentalist movement was the Plastic Straw Ban. Stoked to action by viral videos of plastic-straws killing turtles, environmentalists lobbied for bans which were rolled out across US states. F&B giants like Starbucks and Macdonald’s pledged to remove plastic-straws from their stores. From the get-go, it looked like a watertight argument. Fewer straws, reduced pollution, less harm to wildlife.

Well… upon closer inspection, the ban is teething with issues, despite its commendable intentions. People with certain disabilities require straws to drink from cups, and this straw ban is yet another obstacle placed in their daily life. Looking at the numbers, plastic-straws comprise 0.025% of the 8 million tons of plastic that flow into the ocean per year. And we haven’t even come to the logical gap in the straw ban argument: most plastics get incinerated or recycled, so your plastic-straw probably isn’t getting near the turtles.

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In fact, most of the ocean’s plastics come from major rivers that are poorly regulated. Astonishingly, 3 out of the top 5 plastic emitting rivers are from China. The Yangtze river alone releases 1.5 million tons of plastic into the oceans per year. That’s nearly 20% of the ocean’s global plastic pollution.

So maybe plastic-straw bans aren’t as picture-perfect as we thought. But surely, it’ll save a few turtles? Sadly, no.

From a technical perspective, trading plastic for metal and paper straws is only more beneficial if you’re committed to reuse them repeatedly. In comparison, a paper bag must be reused at least 43 times to have the same environmental impact as a one-time use plastic bag. Organic cotton bags push that number up to an astronomical 20,000 times.

But, the true danger of this plastic ban doesn’t stem from a scientific cost-benefit analysis, but from dangerous attitudes.

This ban, despite having received glowing support from environmentalists, has caused a backlash from consumers questioning its effectiveness — and for good reason. It’s been debated hotly from social media to late-night talk shows. By campaigning for an ineffective and superficial ban, the insidious side-effect is alienating people to climate movements. If you’re infuriated that you can’t drink your boba tea without a paper straw disintegrating and spilling all over your hand (true personal story), chances are, you aren’t going to be too receptive to the next exciting initiative your friendly neighborhood activist comes up with.

Simply put, these bans create apathy or even resentment towards environmental causes in some people.

And therein lies the true danger. How are we going to achieve social consensus for bold policies like the Green New Deal, if sizeable pockets of society have been alienated?

Furthermore, another worrying trend is starting to take hold. Initially, amidst the environmental zeal, many companies were pressured to jumped onto the bandwagon to announce a straw ban, without doing anything else environmentally significant. This must have been a PR dream come true. How often can companies save costs, label themselves as “environmentally conscious”, while satiating the demands of environmentalists? Meanwhile, environment-destroying industrial practices are kept at status-quo. By shining a glaring spotlight on an honestly microscopic element, we risk being blinded to the bigger picture.

Indeed, Senator Elizabeth Warren was so exasperated during recent interview at the CNN Crisis Town Hall 2019 that she retorted, “Oh come on… Some of it is on light bulbs. Some of it is on straws… — this is exactly what the fossil fuel industry hopes we’re all talking about…. They want to be able to stir up a lot of controversy… around your straws.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks at the CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall 2019

Instead of simply just decrying insensibility of the straw ban, let’s take a step back to see what we can do. Despite the unsustainable costs, our insatiable appetites for consumption shows no sign of abating. It isn’t difficult to see why. Just glance at the ads today, and you’ll see we’re a society obsessed with consumption. Warren is right, polluting industries are engaged in propaganda campaigns, but economics is a two-way street. What consumers refuse to consume; producers can’t produce. Buy from companies who have ethical environmental standards, shun the ones that don’t give two cents worth on the environment.

So, there you have it. As individuals, the most effective environmental strategy is to put your money where your mouth is. By championing a half-baked policy, you don’t get much bang out of your buck, people become annoyed and apathetic, and companies paint yet another layer of shiny veneer onto their signboards. Consequently, more important environmental legislation will get delayed in the clamor, plastics still go pouring into the ocean, and Mother Earth pays the bill. Sorry turtles

Photo by Anna Wangler on Unsplash