Pamantasan ng Cabuyao

Katapatan Subdivision, Banay-banay, Cabuyao, Laguna

Senior High School Department

“THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING E-STRAW AS AN ALTERNATIVE TOOL FOR

DRINKING IN REDUCING PLASTIC WASTE AMONG GRADE 12 STUDENTS AT

PAMANTASAN NG CABUYAO”

A Senior High School Thesis Presented to the Faculty at

Pamantasan ng Cabuyao Senior High School

Department, City of Cabuyao

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Strand

By:

Abucayon, Jadie C.

Bucao, Ralph Justine R.

Cuacas, Charles Jeferson M.

Estrada, Katrina M.

Olea, Francine Bernadeth C.

Sullo, Yesha Marie S.

Torres, Jazz Maveric J.

JULY, 2022
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
Katapatan Subdivision, Banay-banay, Cabuyao, Laguna

Senior High School Department

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES AND STUDIES

The purpose of this study is to know the Effectiveness of E-Straw as an alternative tool for

drinking. This chapter summarizes the relevant literature and studies from various sources

that the researcher evaluated while determining the significance of the current

investigation. It also includes a synthesis of the literature and studies in order to thoroughly

comprehend the research and have a better understanding of the subject.

Foreign Literature
Every year, more than 400 million tons of plastic are produced throughout the

world, with 36 % going to single-use items like packaging, resulting in 300 million tons of

garbage (UNEP 2018). Only 9% of that amount gets recycled, 12% is burnt, and the rest

79% ends up in landfills and dumps or is scattered in the environment, with packaging trash

accounting for half of that. (Geyer et al. 2017).

According to, lliyas M. et al., Plastic is one such substance that offers a significant

environmental risk. Plastic, which does not decompose naturally, is manufactured in large

quantities and thrown into the environment. The arrangement of a significant body of

material published on the management of waste plastics, the most daunting issue of the

modern world, is the subject of this article. Plastic is one such item that poses a serious

threat to the environment. Plastic is created in vast numbers and thrown into the

environment since it does not degrade naturally.

According to some estimates, about 500 million straws are used globally. Straws

make only about 0.03 percent of the plastic debris in the ocean, according to Bloomberg.
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
Katapatan Subdivision, Banay-banay, Cabuyao, Laguna

Senior High School Department

This amounts to a significant amount of plastic garbage generated, making the earth's

sustainability rather difficult. As a result, we created a polymer that can withstand the use

of plastic straws. To make edible straws, this substance is shaped into the required shape.

These non-flavored edible straws were invented with the goal of reducing the use of plastic

straws in the future. (P. Yavagal et al., 2020)

On the other hand, according to Xi Zhou et al. (2021), white pollution is a severe

threat to mankind's existence and growth, and little drinking straws have become the

principal plastic trash, increasing the environmental load owing to their widespread usage.

Plastic drinking straws, on the other hand, are gradually being phased out of stores or

outright banned, and the long-term sustainability of drinking straws is being investigated in

a variety of ways, including the development of new environmentally friendly material

drinking straws such as edible straws.

Moreover, Xizheng, W. (2021), The use of plastic straws has a substantial negative

environmental impact. Every day, more than half a billion straws are used in the United

States and subsequently discarded. Most recycling machinery cannot recycle them due to

their shape and size. Straws created this manner are strong and long-lasting, transfer water

effectively, and decompose naturally after use. Bagasse is a waste byproduct of the sugar

industry that can be purchased at a cheap cost, making them inexpensive to produce.

On September 30, 2015, Ocean Conservancy announced the global launch of

Stemming the Tide: for a Plastic-Free Ocean, a first-of-its-kind, solutions-oriented report in

collaboration with the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment outlining specific

ground-based solutions for ocean plastic wastes, according to PR Newswire; New York

(2015). Plastic is predicted to enter the world's waters in the amount of eight million metric
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
Katapatan Subdivision, Banay-banay, Cabuyao, Laguna

Senior High School Department

tons each year. As a result, they predict that by 2025, there will be a ton of plastic for every

three tons of fish if no global action is done, generating major environmental, economic,

and health issues.

Local Literature

Plastic waste is one of the most common sources of land and marine pollution,

thus limiting its usage should be a key concern if the fragile ecosystem is to be preserved.

Despite the fact that paper straws are functional, the use of trees for paper straw

manufacture poses a considerable threat and disadvantage. Now that they are aware of

plastic's resistance to breakdown and its ability to stay in landfills for hundreds of years,

researchers have focused on developing alternatives to replace single-use plastic straws

with reusable and recyclable materials. As part of the scientific community's focus on

sustainable product development to combat this threat, researchers have developed a

variety of biodegradable polymers. (Jyoti JJ., et al., 2019).

According to the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC 202)1,

the plastic soft drink straw and plastic coffee stirrer have been approved for inclusion in the

list of non-environmentally acceptable products (NEAP), which could be outlawed soon as

part of the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste

Management Act of 2000.

 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
Katapatan Subdivision, Banay-banay, Cabuyao, Laguna

Senior High School Department

Foreign Studies

About 8 million tons of plastic enter the world's waters each year. As a result of so

much plastic, toxins are injected into the water. When fish are caught for human

consumption, plastic enters the food chain. Every day, more than a billion straws are used

all over the world. (Drink responsibly is extended with edible straws, 2019).

Every day, 500 million straws, the most of which come from the food service

business, end up in the rubbish or on the streets, according to a research by Yan, P. (2018).

Many little pieces of non-biodegradable plastic are polluting the environment and creating

ecological harm. Because beverages are regularly offered with meals, these venues require

a big amount of straws.

Meanwhile, according to a study conducted by Zhou (2021), the destruction of the

natural environment as a result of white pollution poses a serious threat to mankind's safety

and progress, and that small drinking straws have become the primary plastic trash that,

due to their large size, increases the load on the environment. -daily use, plastic drinking

straws have been removed from shops, and a sustainable approach to the development of

drinking straws has been researched from a range of viewpoints, including the

establishment of novel long-lasting straws environments.

N A'yun (2021) presented another study in which they investigated the performance

and role of bioplastic formulations in the development of edible straw with water resistance.

Edible straws have the highest water resistance rating of 65.18 percent. There is a

relationship between the amount of gelatin used and the temperature at which edible straws

are used, according to these research. Bioplastic formulations can be used as edible straws

with the right composition.

 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
Katapatan Subdivision, Banay-banay, Cabuyao, Laguna

Senior High School Department

According to Karuna R., (2020), the current campaign against single-use plastic

straws has sparked a surge in demand for sustainable alternatives, with over ten different

varieties of single-use and reusable drinking straws now available. Plastic straws are often

used for drinking water in restaurants and other service industries, and they have shown to

be an efficient tool. On the other side, excessive use generates a lot of plastic garbage,

which is harmful to the environment. Plastic garbage pollutes the environment, causes

economic hardships, and poses health risks to humans and animals.

Local Studies

Despite the fact that the Philippines has one of the greatest plastic waste inputs into

the ocean, there is a scarcity of data on the extent of plastic waste pollution in local marine

ecosystems (Paler, M. O., 2019).

According to Limos A.'s (2019) research, the Philippines are the world's third-largest

nickel production, behind Russia and Indonesia. Palawan is home to some of the country's

greatest mining locations and is one of the country's top nickel ore producers. In five years,

the average waste rate for metal straws was 3 percent, according to their research. After

five years, however, plastic straws were totally discarded. Steel straws should not be

blamed or penalized for allegedly turning Palawan into a wasteland when it comes to illegal

mining. In 2017, Gina Lopez, then-secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural

Resources, issued a blanket ban on virtually all mining activity in the Philippines.

To add to it, Abreo, N.S. (2018) suggested that the rising amount of plastic in the

marine environment over time might lead to more encounters between diverse marine

animals. As marine plastics grow increasingly common, there will be increased overlap
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
Katapatan Subdivision, Banay-banay, Cabuyao, Laguna

Senior High School Department

between the distribution of maritime debris, especially marine plastics, and the foraging

areas of marine organisms.

SYNTHESIS

The associated literature and research listed in this paper are important for better

understanding the effects of plastic waste on the natural environment, animals, and

humanity's safety. They helped people realize how plastics impact the world in both positive

and harmful ways.

According to Meaghan (2021) mentioned, A small percentage of plastic waste is

addressed with thermal destruction (burning it), most of the plastics discarded end up in

landfills or elsewhere in the environment. The burning of plastic also isn’t much better for

the environment than throwing it out. Thermal destruction releases toxic fumes and

chemicals into the environment, reducing air quality and creating a public health risk.

The majority of the occurrence in dealing with this global issue, most of the results

anticipated. Because the majority of the studies and kinds of literature state that the

proliferation of plastics used in businesses and our daily lives is also increasing the number

of plastic wastes that affect not only the environment but also wildlife and human health.

The researchers used the related literature and studies as a foundation for

understanding how plastics outnumbered the environment and its implications, as well as to

give an in-depth grasp of the world's potential consequences of plastic waste.