Stop sucking straws, says Yuna

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna has stopped sucking... straws!

"I admit I suck. Haters think I suck. But you suck too. We all suck," said Yuna in a Facebook post.

Yuna is talking about a single-use plastic that we hardly think about - sucking from a plastic straw.

"My favourite thing in the world is an iced latte and I used to suck straws to drink it. I'm sorry," she said.

It is estimated that 500 million plastic straws are being used every day in the United States alone, based on the average rate of an American using 1.6 straws per person per day.

In Malaysia, environment and solid waste management specialist Dr Theng Lee Chong estimates that one straw is used per person each day in Malaysia.

That means that about 31 million plastic straws are used on a daily basis in Malaysia.

In an anti-straw video by the Strawless Ocean initiative, Yuna along with several other celebrities have brought to light the impact single-use plastic straws has on the environment.

She said that most plastic straws end up in our oceans, polluting the water and harming sea life.

"If we don’t act now, by 2050 plastics in the ocean will outweigh the fish," said Yuna.

Plastic straws are not biodegradable. A single plastic straw takes hundreds of years to break down into small pieces called microplastics.

Dr Theng says plastics and microplastics are accumulating in the ocean and is affecting the food chain and overall ecosystem.

"But you can change that! Challenge your friends and followers to #STOPSUCKING by clicking here. Together lets save the ocean and guys #stopsucking! #strawlessocean," said Yuna.