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Cole Grannan
ENC 2135
Investigative Field Essay

The issue of pollution of Earth’s precious oceans has been widely discussed among

scholars and ocean advocates in more recent years. Within this issue, a lot of focus has been

directed to plastic and its effect on marine life. Even more attention has been directed to plastic

straws and their effect on sea turtles. I believe that this topic is important to discuss because

nearly all species of sea turtles are endangered, and they need to be protected. Plastic straws and

their pollution of our oceans can cause negative effects on sea turtles that contribute to their

endangerment. In this essay, I will explain how plastic straws and their pollution of Earth’s

oceans effect sea turtles; using evidence from scholarly and popular sources to help support my

assertions. I will explain the more obvious effects such as how plastic straws are consumed by

turtles, filling up their stomachs and causing internal damage. I will also go into the less obvious

effects such as the effects of microplastics and toxic chemicals released by plastic straws;

explaining how they are hazardous to turtle offspring as well.

Since the 1960’s, plastic straws have become increasingly popular because the materials

used in their manufacture are inexpensive. They replaced renewable paper straws, shifting them

to a single use, non-biodegradable product. This makes them a problem to the environment,

especially our oceans. Since plastic’s do not completely vanish, every plastic straw ever made

still exists today. The number of plastic straws used every day around the world is astonishing.

Marcela Romero Mosquera writes in Banning Plastic Straws: The Beginning of the War Against

Plastics, “Americans use 500 million drinking straws per day, which equates to wrapping the

Earth’s circumference 2.5 times per year. Due to its lightweight, most of the plastic straws do not

make it to recycling or landfills and they end up polluting the oceans and killing the marine life.”
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Cole Grannan
ENC 2135
Investigative Field Essay

(6). Knowing the number of straws used solely by Americans every day, it is mind blowing to

think about how many straws are used around the world. The fact that most straws don’t end up

into landfills and instead into oceans explains how they become a threat to turtles. In 2017,

plastic straws were ranked the seventh most common piece of trash collected on global beaches

by volunteer cleanup crews associated with the Ocean Conservancy (Brenna Houck). “As of

January 2019, plastic straws were the 8th most common ocean trash harming turtles, fish, and

seabirds” (Annie Panageas 66). This further explains the unfortunately significant amount of

straws polluting coastlines and oceans. When straws are littered on the beach or coastline, they

reach the ocean because waves take them out to sea. There are many other ways they reach

oceans as well. For example, when straws are littered in smaller bodies of water like rivers or

streams that lead out to the ocean. Or when there is severe weather like hurricanes. Whether it is

from improper waste management or natural occurrences, plastic straws are becoming more of a

pollutant every day.

There are many obvious effects that plastic straws have on sea turtles that are worth

talking about. After all, they are generally talked about for a reason. Plastic straws that are not

broken down or that are in larger fragments can seriously injure a sea turtle. The turtles can

mistake a straw for food and consume it. Panageas writes, “Animals, like seabirds and turtles, do

not understand the difference between plastics and food, so they ingest whatever they can find”

(66). After the plastic is consumed it can get stuck in the turtle’s stomach, causing internal

damage. This internal damage could lead to serious injury and even death. An article in The New

York Times explained that a study was done on the plastic consumption of many different species
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Cole Grannan
ENC 2135
Investigative Field Essay

of sea turtles. As many as 329 pieces of plastic were found in the digestive tract of one turtle

during the study (Karen Weintraub). The blockage of a turtle’s stomach or digestive tract by

plastics can cause it to stop eating, eventually killing it. The same article also explains that due to

their anatomy, turtles can’t regurgitate something once they’ve swallowed it, “…meaning it

either passes through their gut or gets stuck” (Weintraub). Turtles cannot avoid the damage the

plastic could cause once they eat it. This makes plastic straws even more dangerous. A sharp

piece of plastic could potentially cut or damage a turtle’s internal organs because it must pass

through their digestive tract. Plastic straws can also get stuck in other parts of a sea turtle’s body.

Like in their nostril for example. One of the reasons that so much attention was drawn to plastic

straws was because of a video that went viral on YouTube in 2015. The video, described by

TIME as “heart-wrenching”, shows graphic footage of a plastic straw being removed from the

nostril of a sea turtle. This video helped raise awareness for sea turtles and plastic straws.

In addition to the obvious effects that plastic straws have on sea turtles, there are also

effects that are often not recognized or that are less obvious that harm turtles as well. Toxic

chemicals are released when plastics start to break down. These chemicals can harm vertebrates

and invertebrates, especially when plastics break down inside of them. Plastic straws specifically

have chemicals that are very harmful. Panageas writes, “In terms of plastic straws, there is a

chemical called polypropylene, a petroleum byproduct, that is the same chemical in our gasoline

and does not degrade in the environment”. Instead, Panageas explains, the product floats on top

of the water and will likely be consumed by animals or become part of an ocean gyre such as

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Consuming chemicals that are the same ones found in gasoline
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Cole Grannan
ENC 2135
Investigative Field Essay

is very dangerous to sea turtles. Another less obvious contribution to pollution and the

endangerment of sea turtles is microplastics. Microplastics are small pieces of plastic that are

less than five millimeters long. Plastic straws break down into microplastics and when turtles

consume them, the microplastics can attract other substances such as chemicals and metals.

According to Tamara Galloway and Ceri Lewis, authors of “Marine Microplastics”, “The

hydrophobic nature of plastic attracts other substances, including organic and plant matter,

bacteria, chemical contaminants and metals that adsorb onto the surface. Following ingestion,

these substances can potentially transfer to the tissues of animals”. Galloway and Lewis then

explain that it is possible that microplastics are selective in the chemicals that they bind,

deliberately attracting chemicals secreted by marine life. Microplastics are not only a threat to

adult sea turtles; they are also a threat to new sea turtle offspring. In an article on website Greens

Steel, it is said that turtle hatchlings nest in beds of seaweed on the ocean floor and spend the

first couple years of their lives there. These beds protect them from predators and give them a

food source when they are small and vulnerable. The article explains that microplastics get

trapped in these beds of seaweed and the turtle hatchlings consume them, filling up their

stomachs with plastic. It is also said that baby sea turtles get trapped and tangled in seaweed

littered with microplastics. This prevents them from being able to surface for air and leads to

their eventual suffocation. Evidently, microplastics and toxic chemicals are just as much of a

problem to turtles as straws in their original or slightly broken-down form.

These authors make good assertions and bring key points to the table when discussing

this topic. I feel that because there is not a lot of research done on the effects of microplastics on
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Cole Grannan
ENC 2135
Investigative Field Essay

larger marine animals, this essay hopefully helped shed new light on the specific issue. There are

many things that can be done to further prevent the pollution of plastic straws. Proper waste

management would certainly help a lot. Being environmentally conscious and leaving no trace of

garbage or litter. Volunteering to participate in beach clean-ups. Some of the things currently

being done in terms of spreading the word are great. Social media can play a big role in

advocating for the preservation of sea turtles. For example, ocean advocate groups may post an

illustration that presents a message about plastic straws and their damage. A specific example is

made by the Barbados Sea Turtle Project on Facebook. On July 24th, 2018, they posted an

illustration with a straw coming out of a turtle’s mouth. There are captions in the clip art that say,

“Don’t suck the life from our oceans” and “#BreakFreeFromPlastic”. Using an alternative to the

plastic straw could also be an effective way of doing one’s part to help eliminate the issue. The

ban of plastic straws entirely has become a public discussion as well. If this were to happen, it

could make a significant difference. It would not eliminate all the plastic straws that already have

polluted oceans, but it would help stop any more from being littered. Plastic straws would not be

accessible to the public. They might not even be made anymore because they would be banned.

This would do so much to help solve the issue. Sea turtles are magnificent creatures that have

been around for millions of years. It would be a shame if they became extinct, especially if it

were due to human made products. Studies have shown that although most sea turtle species are

endangered, some of them are slowly recovering. Awareness being rose about plastic straws and

their effect on sea turtles could be one of the reasons that they are recovering. My main point is

that plastic straws have many negative effects on sea turtles and other marine life. They are

dangerous for turtles to consume and expose them to toxic chemicals that can kill them and their
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Cole Grannan
ENC 2135
Investigative Field Essay

offspring. Another point to think about is that microplastics in marine life are transferred to

humans when humans eat seafood. This is a completely different discussion; however, the point

can be made to further explain why the issue should matter to people. It appears effort is being

made by ocean advocate groups to help with this issue. However, if a team effort is not made by

humans, these beautiful sea creatures could become extinct.

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Cole Grannan
ENC 2135
Investigative Field Essay

Bibliography

Galloway, Tamara, and Ceri Lewis. "Marine microplastics." Current Biology 27.11 (2017):

R445-R446.

Houck, Brenna. “Why the World Is Hating on Plastic Straws Right Now.” Eater, Eater, 12 July

2018, https://www.eater.com/2018/7/12/17555880/plastic-straws-environment-pollution-banned-

alternatives-ocean-sea-turtle-viral-video. 

Panageas, A. (2019). The Environmental Impact of Straws and Other Plastics. D.U.Quark, 3 (2).

Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/ duquark/vol3/iss2/10

Romero Mosquera, Marcela. "Banning plastic straws: the beginning of the war against

plastics." Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ) 9.1 (2019): 1.

Weintraub, Karen. “Just a Few Pieces of Plastic Can Kill Sea Turtles.” The New York Times, The

New York Times, 13 Sept. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/13/science/sea-turtles-

plastic.html. 
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Cole Grannan
ENC 2135
Investigative Field Essay

“Why Are Plastic Straws So Bad for Sea Turtles?” Greens Steel, Greens Steel, 19 Aug. 2020,

https://greenssteel.com/blogs/news/why-are-plastic-straws-so-bad-for-sea-turtles. Accessed 26

June 2022. 

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