Plastic waste is non-biodegradable. It takes up space in landfills that we don’t have. The UN describes the level of plastic waste in our oceans a “planetary crisis”. And the truth is, our habits are not helping. In fact, we ‘suck’. Plastic drinking straws are one such menace that we can and should be tackling head-on. Every straw used counts.
Economic strategy firm AlphaBeta, and social enterprises The Final Straw and The Cyan Project, have worked together over the past 6 months to collect some naked facts about plastic straw consumption and possible solutions to reduce plastic straw use in Singapore. They combined deep analytical work and results from a large, exclusive consumer survey to shed light on some uncomfortable truths.
An estimated 2.2 million straws are used in Singapore every day. Laid end-to-end, that’s more than twice our entire coastline! The good news? We are willing to change. Four out of five consumers are willing to use plastic alternatives like bamboo, or give up straws entirely. Overwhelmingly, consumers also said they would appreciate it if more businesses were offering such alternatives.
Find out more about how your business can help us stop sucking here.
The report has received significant coverage in the media, including:
The Final Straw: Tackling plastic straw consumption in Singapore, Responsible Business, 5 June 2018
80% of Singapore consumers ready to ditch plastic straws, Eco-Business, 6 June 2018
The final straw: How Singapore can curb plastic pollution, The Straits Times, 7 June 2018
