Giving Compass' Take:

• Global Citizen discusses the extensive damage plastic pollution does to our oceans. In order to mitigate the issue, this article lists some alternatives to plastic straws that consumers should seek out.

• Advocacy and awareness can help, but we must do more overall to help preserve our environment, including funding strategies that make an impact.

• Learn what donors can do about ocean plastic. 

“Straws are a gateway plastic,” said Dune Ives, executive director of Lonely Whale, a nonprofit committed to protecting the oceans and marine life.

She didn’t mean that using straws eventually leads people to use saran wrap, plastic bags, and ponchos.

She meant that giving up plastic straws makes it easier for people to give up other types of plastic and to ultimately think about the impact plastic has on the environment, especially the oceans.

The scale of plastic pollution in the oceans is truly staggering. An estimated 8 to 11 million tons of plastic enters the oceans every year — the equivalent of emptying a garbage truck filled with plastic into the oceans every minute.

Here are 7 alternatives:

  1. Bamboo Straw
  2. Straw Straw
  3. Paper Straws
  4. Steel Straws
  5. Glass Straws
  6. Water Bottle or Reusable Cup With Straw
  7. No straw

Read more about the impact plastic straws are having on oceans by Jana Sepehr, Joe McCarthy and Erica Sanchez at Global Citizen.