Title: Straw Sucks!

i. Attention Grabber:
How many of you have ever used a straw? That's okay, I've sucked too. Last
year, my friend and I joined the camp. In that camp, we watched a movie named
"The Plastic Ocean". It was the first time that I've been told that plastic never
ever breaks down, it actually never goes away.

ii. Introductory Remarks:

On our way back home, I started thinking about the scene where a plastic straw
stacked up on poor turtle’s nose, and I start thinking about it. They seem kind
of harmless, don’t they? But did you know? Everyday humans use more than
500 million straws. If you wind these up, from end to end, that would wrap
around planet Earth four times, every single day. As I said before, plastic can’t
break down. So, what could we do in order to reach “Straw No More?”

iii. Reveal Topic

Today, I would like to talk about the reasons why plastic straws suck and what
we can do to stop sucking plastic.

iv. Preview
To those who have motor disabilities, they do need to rely on straws, but most
of us don't. Usually, humans don't think twice about using it and mostly it ends
up in the ocean. Its suck don't you think?

Transition
Let me start with the reasons why straws suck.

Body
1. They harm marine wildlife and ecosystems.
Whenever there is an ocean coastline clean up, plastic straws never fail to
make it on the list of one of the most found ocean litter. Plastic straws in the
oceans are bad news for marine wildlife. Not only do they get stuck up turtle's
noses causing immense levels of pain and distress, but they're also mistaken
for food by seabirds and fed to their chicks, or sucked up by fish and marine
mammals when they’re feeding. In fact, over a million seabirds die each year
from ingesting plastic. Plastic in the ocean also absorbs any other pollutants
 present in the water, intensifying its’ toxicity for the animals who eat it, including
those in our food chain.

2. Used for minutes, here for centuries, piling up daily.

Like most single-use plastic, straws are not able to be efficiently recycled due
to their low value. The only way to turn off the flow of single-use plastic
accumulating every day in our oceans, and destined to remain there for
centuries is to stop using it.

Transition
Now, let me tell you the ways to stop sucking plastic straws!

1. The simplest way to reduce plastic straws is to reject or use reusable

straws.
It's not hard to enjoy a drink without the straw. If you're ordering the drinks, try
to remember to say ‘no to please' every time. For example, the next time you
go to a restaurant, make sure you request even without a straw. Many
restaurants serve straws with drinks even without a request, so make sure you
ask for “no straw” before you order. Another way to combat this problem is to
use reusable straws. Bamboo, stainless steel, glass, and paper straws are
examples of reusable straw. They are much better alternatives than plastic
straws. Reusable straws which made of stainless steel or glass can be used,
cleaned, and reused over and over again.

Conclusion
Summary of main points
Living straw free is actually really simple. All you need to do is make the decision
to stop. So, if each of us wisely takes action in one or more ways, we can effectively
work towards a real solution.

Concluding Remarks
I urge you to acknowledge this substantial environment issue and do your part to
alleviate the usage of plastic straws. That’s all from me, thank you!
- Why are straws a big target? The main reason cited for
eliminating plastic straws is their negative impact on our oceans
and marine wildlife. Plastic in the ocean is a huge problem, but of
all the plastic that ends up in the ocean, straws make up only
four percent of that waste. So why are straws a big target? The
problem is their size. They are small and inconspicuous. So
much so that people often forget they are plastic and do not
recycle them.
-
- Straws that do get recycled often don’t make it through the
mechanical recycling sorter because they are so small and
lightweight. So they contaminate recycling loads or get disposed
as garbage. They are likely to end up in the ocean.
- So knowing the amount of straws being used every day,
individuals cutting back on use can make a difference.