Straw bans and straw men

Decisions should be made with the best available evidence. From our elected representatives to faceless bureaucrats, to corporations — whose political leanings are increasingly effecting our lives — even if we don’t like the decisions, we like to believe they are utilising the best research. Unfortunately, this is often not the case.

Let’s take the recent war on straws. Pubs, clubs and cafes are ridding themselves of the plastic drinking apparatus in the name of environmentalism. But where did this sudden concern with straws come from?

The straw ban began in America. Celebrities once again decided to tell the average Joe what they were doing wrong, and slick TV ads and hashtags were produced to enlighten us on the dangers of straws.

The main talking point for the anti-straw activists was that 500 million straws were being used in the US every day, an eye-wateringly high number.

But how did they come to this figure? It turns out the source was the science project of then nine-year-old Milo Cress. Cress called a handful of straw manufacturers and asked how many straws they produced; and the 500 million figure was born.

Without wishing to criticise young Milo’s initiative, this is hardly scientific.

Estimates from more rigorous studies puts US straw usage at between 170 and 390 million per day. It’s difficult to get accurate figures about Australia’s straw usage because even ‘The Last Straw’ campaign — which advocates  for the reduction of straws here — uses the 500 million a day figure and does not have any specific domestic figures.

A few hundred million straws may seem like a lot. However, according to a study published in Science (2015) Australia’s plastic wastage accounts for less than 0.08% of ocean-based plastic pollution. The effect Australia can have on ocean pollution is infinitesimal. But we will again feel the negative impacts of an environmental campaign based on feelings over facts.

I guess that’s what happens when you leave the kids in charge.

Monica Wilkie is External Relations  Manager at The Centre for Independent Studies.