By Mackenzie Nelson

You suck! Hey, don’t take it personally—I suck too. Most people suck…through straws, that is. In fact, so many Americans suck that we collectively use 500 million single-use plastic straws every day. That is a lot of plastic. So much plastic that this year Seattle hosted the first city-wide campaign, called Strawless in Seattle, to help remove single-use plastic straws from the US waste stream.

Born out of the global Strawless Ocean initiative started by the Lonely Whale Foundation—an organization focused on creating a community of ocean advocates—Strawless in Seattle encouraged local businesses and public figures to commit to reducing the use of single-use plastic straws, opting instead for compostable alternatives or foregoing the plastic drinking appendages altogether. In the month of September, Strawless in Seattle successfully prevented the use of 2.3 million straws within the city.

The Straw-Free Movement

The call to action to remove single-use plastic straws from the community is not unique to the Emerald City. Many organizations across the country—including Milo Cress’s Be Straw Free campaign, the Plastic Pollution Coalition, and Straw Free—have been working for years to raise awareness about the impacts of single-use plastic straws on the environment. Social media tags like #RefusePlasticStraws, #SwitchtheStraw, #OneLessStraw, and most recently #StopSucking fill social media feeds.

The popularity of #StopSucking is in part due to prominent people associated with the idea: the Lonely Whale Foundation was co-founded by HBO actor Adrien Grenier from “Entourage,” and a number of celebrities have publicly committed to the movement including Ellen Pompeo, Amanda Seyfried, and Sylvia Earle. More locally, Seahawks Quarterback Russell Wilson has become the face of going “strawless,” revealed as the “Straw Thief” in Seattle.

Why are these public figures important? They are the messengers. They have access to platforms where they can promote social change issues because their voices will be heard by thousands. According to Professors Aseem Prakash and Nives Dolsak of the University of Washington, “Messengers can do two things: they can strengthen the loyalty of supporters and they can attract wavering actors to the movement.”

Straw-Free Seattle

It is no secret how damaging plastics are to ecosystems. Many of us watched in disgust and despair as the video of a marine biologist removing a plastic straw from the nose of a sea turtle made the rounds on social media. It has become common to see photos and videos of beaches covered in trash and plastic, of the “islands” of discarded materials floating in the middle of the ocean, and of marine animals tangled in grocery bags and six-pack rings. Plastic is so abundant in our daily lives that it is no surprise we find our innocently discarded items popping up again—this time in more harmful ways.

So why is there now momentum in Seattle to remove single-use plastic straws?

Plastic straws are under a temporary exemption from current food packaging requirements as determined by Seattle Public Utilities, which “…requires all food service businesses to find recyclable or compostable packaging alternatives to all disposable food service items…” and “…applies to all food service businesses, including restaurants, grocery stores, delis, coffee shops, and institutional cafeterias.” However, with compostable options now more readily available, the exemption on straws is expected to be lifted by July 2018.

#StrawlessSMEA

Single-use plastic straws are just about everywhere: presented to you at coffee shops in your favorite blended holiday beverage, added to your drink at restaurants without your request, and attached to the sides of your kids’ juice boxes. Using a straw has become habit, but enjoying your beverage does not require the presence of single-use plastic straws.

Jr Ocean Guardians has presented the challenge of “No Straw November”—a chance to say “No” when offered single-use plastic straws. In partnership with the Student Environmental Affairs Society (SEAS), Currents is taking on Strawless SMEA, a challenge inspired by No Straw November but also discourages the use of plastic bags and non-reusable cups in addition to single-use plastic straws. Throughout the month of November, Currents will be posting additional articles—on Thursdays—as a series focused on the themes of single-use plastic straws and plastic pollution.

Here is the challenge we offer you for the month of November: #StopSucking.