whats the deal with plastic straws?

I was recently interviewed by the New York Times about the recent move by Starbucks to stop using disposable plastic straws by 2020. You can also listen to me discuss this and other recent progress in the fight against plastics pollution on The Eater Upsell podcast!

As Sam Athey, a plastics pollution researcher, explained to the The New York Times, “Plastic straws are pretty small and lightweight, so when they’re going through the mechanical sorter, they’re often lost or diverted.” (Mother Jones)

And according to plastics pollution researcher Sam Athey, “[It takes] about 200 years for polypropylene plastic straws to break down under normal environmental conditions” (Foodable Network)