SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - The Last Straw

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

Karl Grossman

On Independence Day week last month, Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn joined  with environmentalists and the county’s Single Use Plastic Reduction Task Force in calling for Suffolk to “declare independence” from plastic straws.

Given the name “Strawless Suffolk,” the initiative aims to “convince” restaurants in waterfront Suffolk communities “to take a pledge this summer to stop using plastic straws.”

A statement by Ms. Hahn, the environmentalists and the task force—established by the Suffolk Legislature in March by a resolution authored by Ms. Hahn—said: “Restaurants that agree to take this pledge will be provided with a decal to identify the establishments as a ‘Strawless Suffolk’ participating restaurant.”

“To be eligible for recognition, restaurants can elect to pursue one or all of three scenarios: stop using straws completely; provide biodegradable straws made from paper or bamboo upon request; and/or provide reusable straws made of stainless steel or glass.”

It went on: “In Suffolk County, which boasts some of America’s most beautiful beaches, a thousand miles of shoreline, and waterways teaming with marine life, the innocuous plastic straw has become a tangible threat to the county’s tourist-driven economy, littering our beaches with debris and threatening turtles, birds and other marine life.”

“Every day, Americans discard a half a billion plastic straws, many of which find their way into oceans and inland waterways, which to put in perspective could wrap around the Earth 2.5 times per day. What’s more, nearly 90% of all marine debris is made of plastic, including plastic straws,” it stated.

The situation calls for, indeed, the last straw.

As Ms. Hahn and the environmentalists were announcing the initiative here, Seattle became the first major U.S. city to ban plastic straws. Also prohibited in Seattle now are plastic food utensils.

There needs to be a broad attack on single-use plastic. Other than profiting the plastics industry, single-use plastics are unnecessary. 

When used in connection with food, a human health issue is involved. Beth Fiteni, a member of the county’s Single Use Plastic Reduction Task Force and executive director of the organization Green Inside and Out, points out that “plastic is made from petroleum and may potentially leach hormone-disrupting chemicals…Since there are paper alternatives and even reusable glass or metal alternatives, there really is no need for these useless bits of plastic.”

As to what is preferable—an effort to “convince” restaurants on straws or, as Seattle has done, outlaw plastic straws, I would go with the latter—considering the huge problem plastic straws have become in Suffolk along with the rest of the nation and world. 

“A video that went viral in 2015 of a sea turtle getting a bloody straw removed from its nostril helped spur some of the growing momentum to ban or limit plastic straws in many cities, states, countries, or businesses,” reported the Christian Science Monitor in an article in June. It was headlined: “Ditching straws to save sea life.”

It quoted Dianna Cohen, chief executive officer of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, as saying: “Plastic straws [can be] the gateway, the beginning to raise awareness or open your eyes about single-use plastic…We’re really hoping that we create a system shift.” 

The piece went on relating the argument that “the rate at which straws are currently ending up on beaches and in the ocean demands action.”

“During the International Coastal Cleanup, a day in September when communities around the world head out to clean up beaches, 3 million straws have been collected over the past five years,” according to Nicholas Mallos, director of the Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas program, said the piece.

Legislator Hahn, a Setauket Democrat, says: “The beauty of our beaches and natural landscape is what drives Suffolk County’s estimated $5.6 billion tourist economy. And yet, all over the county, our beaches and parks are littered with plastic straws and other plastic debris. 

What’s even more distressing is the suffering these useless bits of plastic inflict on vulnerable wildlife. Suffolk is joining the worldwide movement to save our oceans and beaches, starting right here at home.”

Working with Ms. Hahn is the Surfrider Foundation’s Eastern Long Island Chapter  which in May launched a “Strawless Summer” campaign. Colleen Henn, its clean water coordinator and also a member of the Single Use Plastic Reduction Task Force, comments that “we have been overwhelmed by the acceptance and success of our initiative. We are heartened to be working alongside Suffolk Legislator Hahn and a coalition of organizations to implement a county-wide ‘Strawless Suffolk.’ Surfrider hopes that this movement will encourage a deeper dialogue about reducing the prevalence of single-use plastics in our daily lives.”

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.