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Last week, EcoWatch reported that the campaign to re-elect President Donald Trump was selling packs of 10 plastic straws for $15. Commentators noted that the straws came with an unusually high price tag of $1.50 per pop, but apparently it was a price Trump supporters were willing to pay. The campaign has sold more than $456,000 worth since July 19, The Guardian reported.
The campaign to re-elect President Donald Trump has found a new way to troll liberals and sea turtles.
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We get it. Balloons are fun and make great decorations. But we hate to burst your bubble—balloons can be a big problem when they are deliberately released into the environment.
The litter is not only a blight on landscapes, waterways, trees and power lines, but balloons and balloon strings can entangle, choke or kill marine life and other animals. That's not to mention the wasteful use of helium, a non-renewable resource.
Plastic Straw Bans Have Unintended Consequences for People with Disabilities
Acting Sub Lt.niwat Thumma / EyeEm / Getty Images
The movement to ban plastic straws has gained major momentum this month, with Seattle's ban going into effect July 1 and companies like Starbucks, Hyatt and American Airlines all agreeing to phase the sucking devices out as well.
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Bacardi and Lonely Whale to Remove 1 Billion Plastic Straws to Ensure #TheFutureDoesntSuck
Bacardi, the world's largest privately-owned spirits company, and Lonely Whale, the innovative oceans nonprofit helping Alaska Airlines reduce plastic use, have teamed up with the goal of removing one billion plastic straws from circulation by 2020.
The pair announced their partnership Wednesday under the banner #thefuturedoesntsuck. As part of the initiative, Bacardi will also review its supply chain to see where it can eliminate other single-use plastics.
Starbucks Becomes Largest Food and Beverage Retailer to Announce Plastic Straw Ban
Starbucks announced Monday it would become the largest food and beverage retailer to phase out plastic straws, aiming to complete the process at locations worldwide by 2020, CNN Money reported. The decision will remove more than one billion straws from circulation annually, the company said.
Momentum is building in the war against single-use plastics. In the past week, a slew of major companies—including SeaWorld parks, American Express, cruise company Royal Caribbean, IKEA, A&W Canada and Burger King UK—have pledged to eliminate items such as plastic drinking straws, stirrers, lids and bags in efforts to protect our oceans and their inhabitants.
SeaWorld Entertainment announced Thursday, right before World Oceans Day, that all 12 of its theme parks have removed all single-use plastic drinking straws and shopping bags.
By John R. Platt
Sometimes a couple of kids can help change the world.
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In an ambitious effort to stop ocean pollution, the European Commission on Monday proposed banning the 10 most common single-use plastic products as well as lost and abandoned fishing gear.
The European Union's executive arm targeted the products that are most often found on the continent's beaches and seas, which together account for 70 percent of its marine litter.
Last week, New York City lawmakers introduced a bill banning plastic straws in all bars and restaurants in the Big Apple, joining the growing worldwide war against this environmental scourge.
"There are 500 million straws being used everyday in the U.S.," Councilman Rafael L. Espinal Jr., the bill's lead sponsor, told NY1 on Thursday. "That's enough to fill Yankee Stadium five times over."
McDonald's shareholders rejected a proposal to take the first step in banning plastic straws at its 36,000 outlets worldwide.
The proposal, published in an SEC filing in April, would have required the fast food giant to prepare a report on the business risks of using plastic straws, and the company's efforts to develop and implement more sustainable alternatives in its restaurants.