A June Bloomberg Opinion piece by columnist Adam Minter explains why the plastic straw ban won't really decrease the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean as much as people think.
In fact, Minter states that 46 percent of the plastic in the garbage patch by weight comes from fishing nets and other various fishing supplies.
"Ghost gear" as it is called, stays in the ocean long after it has been abandoned by fishermen and accounts for the deaths and decline of marine habitats.
Minter writes,
"In 2013, Virginia Institute of Marine Science estimated that lost and abandoned crab pots take in 1.25 million blue crabs each year."
Now some of New York's top cocktail bars are experiencing a shortage in straws as they scramble to find a more environmentally friendly alternative. It all seems like more trouble than it is worth.
Read Minter's column here.
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