Over the summer I did what any college student would do: I went out to eat as much as possible with my family so I wouldn’t have to pay. At one restaurant in Charlotte, I ordered my water with no lemon, as usual, but this time I asked for no straw.
Immediately as the words left my mouth, I heard groans from around the table. My grandparents called me a stereotypical millennial, and my sister looked at me and said, “What difference will you not using one straw actually make?”
We’ve all seen the picture of the turtle with a straw lodged in its nose that has circulated the internet for some time. This photo has effectively shifted the tide of public discourse toward talking more about sustainable actions to prevent these situations.
The Nature Research portfolio defines sustainability as “the ability to endure … by exploiting resources in a way that does not deplete their future availability or unduly damage the wider environment.” As a result of the turtle image, we saw the rise of refusal campaigns such as the #GoStrawless movement taking place around the world and the local Strawless at State campaign in order to live more sustainably.
As much as I love hopping onto any bandwagon that appears on my Facebook timeline, my sister’s question really made me think. What really is one person going to do? It is just a straw, right?
It is precisely that mentality that allows us to continue using single-use plastics that do nothing but harm the environment and produce excessive amounts of waste. Single-use plastics — such as plastic water bottles and straws — are one of the largest environmental issues of our time. The United Nations Environment Program estimated that 80 percent of marine debris are plastics and account for the death of over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals each year.
So, what does refusing a single straw really do? By refusing single-use plastics we are able to create a domino effect that shifts the supply and demand equilibrium. When fewer people use straws at restaurants, restaurants buy fewer of them, which forces producers to scale back their manufacturing and ultimately leads to less wasted plastic.
Alternatively, supporting campaigns against plastic use helps entrench social pressure and encourages sustainable change. In regards to plastic bags, Joseph Curtin of the New York Times explains how the cultural impact can quickly change social norms.
Curtin writes, “Reusable bags become the norm quicker than one might imagine, and shoppers seamlessly adapt their daily routines to the new reality. Action aimed at plastic bags can pave the way for further measures to address free coffee cups, lids, stirrers, cutlery, straws and takeout packaging.”
Students at NC State can make an impact even as individuals, without needing to join a student organization; although, if you do want to get involved with student organizations, there are many opportunities such as Zero Waste Wolves and Sustainability Stewards.
A single person has the ability to reduce waste and decrease the demand for single-use plastics when they bring their own bottle, take their own bag, and refuse straws and plastic bags. These small efforts, which do not severely impact the average person’s daily life, all add up to a more sustainable future.
A concrete example of how to reduce waste is to bring your own bottle when ordering from Starbucks at Talley Student Union or any other coffee stores on and off campus. Not only does this prevent an entire plastic cup, lid and straw from being thrown away, but it also reduces the demand for these plastics. Not to mention, customers at Starbucks save 10 cents on their purchase if they bring their own travel mug.
In the wise words of Dr. Seuss from “The Lorax,” “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” The sustainable revolution starts with us, on an individual level. The “I won’t make a difference” mentality that plagues us is our environmental kryptonite, and, contrary to popular belief, you do make a difference with every small action.
