Last straw for Malaysians

Some eateries are believed to be washing the drinking straws for re-use to cut costs.

THIS is an open letter to all my fellow Malaysians and operators of food outlets in the country.

Our planet is dying – even our children are aware of this reality – yet we are doing very little to help save it. Our air is polluted and our environment, food and water sources are being destroyed.

A major concern is the plastic that is in our food sources, especially marine food sources. Due to our heavy use and careless disposal of plastic, these materials ultimately end up in the sea, contaminating our seafood. Thus, most of us are currently consuming plastic through our food.

There are many sources of plastic waste, from disposable water bottles and plastic bags to take- away containers for our food and drinks.

One serious source of plastic waste is plastic straws. A conservative estimate is that we use more than 20 million plastic straws a week. For example, if one-third of Malaysians eat out twice a week and order one drink each time with a plastic straw, we would be using more than 20 million straws a week, and more than one billion a year. But the reality is worse. Our real usage in Malaysia is possibly more like five to 10 million plastic straws a day!

On the whole, our recycling rate is poor. Malaysians in general have limited awareness of ecological concerns and saving our environment is not on the mind of the average person.

We need to recognise that every bit counts, but while we wait for the average Malaysian to change his or her mindset for the betterment of our environment, we appeal to all owners and operators of food outlets, whether regular or fast food, to stop dispensing straws with any cold or hot drink and make them only available to customers upon request. Offer straws only to people who need them, perhaps to people with motor dysfunction or other disabilities.

Remember, it saves money besides making your outlet more eco-friendly.

I also appeal to all Malaysians to request that their drinks come without straws. We all need to acknowledge the damage we have done to the environment and also educate our fellow Malaysians to avoid using straws as far as possible.

Make the plastic straw you used yesterday the last one you will ever use.

The following are five important facts on plastic and plastic straws:

1. 80% to 90% of all marine debris is made from plastic.

2. Straws are too small to be easily recycled, so they are disposed as trash and often end up in the ocean.

3. Straws are very harmful to animals, especially marine life. Most are ingested or entrap them.

4. Plastic takes 400 to 500 years to degrade.

5. Some studies have shown that one-third of all fish that we eat has ingested plastics.

One review of plastic waste into the oceans put Malaysia as a moderate plastic polluter, and that Asian countries are among the highest polluters.

So the next time you go out for a meal or drink, remember to say “give me that drink without a straw, please”.

And operators of all food outlets, please move to a “straws on request” policy.

If we want our children and grandchildren to have a meaningful future, we have to act today to reduce our plastic waste.

Tomorrow may be one straw too late.

DATUK DR AMAR-SINGH HSS

Ipoh