Is this really the last straw?

Metal straws have been all the range recently thanks to a fervent anti-straw movement. The trend began after a video of biologists painstakingly removing a plastic straw from a sea turtle’s nostril went viral on YouTube. The 2017 BBC documentary Blue Planet II which focused on marine life also helped raised more awareness about plastic pollution in our oceans and kept the hype of the movement going.

Ever since, it has become increasingly commonplace for pictures to pop up my Instagram of metal straws stuck into bubble tea and Starbucks cups. The anti-straw movement has almost become an internet trend of its own.

But how much of a difference does it make to bring your own straw? The strongest argument is that if everyone plays a small part, it will multiply into a big change.

However the hypocrisy becomes evident to me the more I observe the trend. The main aim of the anti-straw movement is to cut down on non-biodegrable and non-recycable plastics, but more often than not I see these metal straws being stuck into plastic cups and bags.

As someone who has made it a habit of myself to bring my own shopping bags, lunch container, cutlery, and tumbler, it has made me wonder what prevents others from doing the same.

The initiative behind using a metal straw over disposable plastic ones is a good one indeed, but it should not be the end of our efforts. We can always go further and do more. When we take a step back and look at how much single-use plastic we go through in our daily lives, it can be shocking to see that straws pale in comparison to how much plastic we really use. Simply cutting down on straws is not enough.

So what can we do?

We can start by bringing our own tumblers or cups. Many coffee joints now offer discounts if you bring your own tumbler or cup. Another easy thing we can do is to refuse plastic bags at supermarkets and bring our own shopping bag instead. To go even further, we can bring our own lunch containers and cutlery if we intend to pack food.

During my internship, I found myself bringing a handy tote bag with a round insulated container, a metal tumbler, and my chopsticks to work every single day. It may have been cumbersome at first but once the habit was built, it became second nature. I hope too that one day these small acts can be just as instinctive for all of us.