The post How One Sea Turtle Sparked a Movement Against Plastic Straws appeared first on A-Z Animals.
Plastic straws are one of the top contributors of plastic pollution in the oceans. With just 9% of straws capable of being recycled worldwide, hundreds of millions to billions make their way into the oceans annually. Just how many is unknown. But with 7.5 million straws washing up on US beaches alone, the numbers are staggering. Most people are unaware of the severity of plastic pollution in the ocean, as they do not encounter it on a daily basis. Even the majority of beach visits do not put people face-to-face with sea trash. This is why a YouTube video posted in 2015 became so important: one sea turtle led a global movement against plastic straws that still continues today.
How a Viral Video of a Sea Turtle Sparked Plastic Straw Bans
Olive Ridley sea turtle with an entire plastic straw lodged in its nostril.
©Sea Turtle Biologist – Original
For years, marine biologists have called for a ban on plastics, having witnessed firsthand the devastating impact on marine life. However, their pleas largely fell on deaf ears, given how cheap plastic items are to produce and how many industries, specifically the hospitality industry, use them. This all changed, however, when a group of marine biologists posted a video of a sea turtle with what they initially thought was a tube worm up its nose.
Led by Dr. Christine Figgener, who was working on her dissertation on the feeding and migration patterns of sea turtles in Costa Rica, the group of marine biologists pulled the Olive Ridley turtle out of the water to remove the worm. Using a pair of pliers, the group carefully began to extract the object from the turtle’s nose.
In a shocking twist of events, the object that is lodged in the sea turtle’s nose is not a worm, but instead a plastic straw. The plastic straw was clearly causing the sea turtle pain as it was being removed; with each bit that came out of the nostril, the poor turtle winced and bled from the partially extracted straw, which appeared to have been there for some time.
“We had no idea what we were frigging looking at,” Figgener explains, as she discusses the video from 2015, seven years after it took place. “It wasn’t until one of the researchers cut off a piece of the object that they realized what it was: a four-inch piece of plastic straw.”
Figgener continues, “We couldn’t believe that such a mundane object that we really use on a daily basis … that we found it in the turtle’s nose,” she said—“that a tiny object caused so much suffering.”
With the final pull, the straw was dislodged. The entirety of a drinking straw was in the turtle’s nostril, which eventually would have killed it. This heartbreaking, now-viral video with 110 million views sparked global movements to reduce the use of single-use straws. This was the first time the public could see just how detrimental not only straws, but also other plastics, were to marine life. Consequently, not only environmental groups but also the public became involved, letting local businesses and legislators know they wanted to reduce the use of single-use straws, many of whom did so.
Where Are Plastic Straws Banned?
Single-use plastic straws have been banned in many countries and cities globally.
©Daisy Daisy/Shutterstock.com
In the wake of the sea turtle video, governments from around the globe decided not only to ban the use of single-use plastics, including straws, but also to decrease overall plastic production. There was massive forward momentum in making this happen until the world came to a halt when the COVID pandemic took hold. In the years since 2020, many governments have gotten back on track with the ban of plastic straws and single-use plastics. Some of those countries include:
| Government | Plastic Ban In Effect | Year Plastic Ban Went Into Effect |
| European Union | Plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks, cotton buds | July 2021 |
| Bali | Plastic shopping bags, straws, and Styrofoam |
2018 |
| China | 1. Thin plastic bags 2. Thick plastic bags (select cities and towns) 3. Straws, cutlery, stirrers, chopsticks (restaurant industry) |
1. 2008 2. 2022 (full countrywide ban in 2025) 3. 30% reduction in place with full ban in 2025 |
| India | Cutlery, straws, drinks stirrers, cotton buds, candy wrappers, and cigarette packets | July 2022 |
| Thailand | Single-use plastics in national parks | 2019 |
| Rwanda | Total ban on single-use products | October 2019 |
| Kenya | 1. Plastic bags 2. Single-use products (national parks only) |
1. 2019 2. 2020 |
| Colombia | Plastic bags and cutlery | January 2025 |
Other countries have piecemeal bans or have introduced bills to ban plastics that have yet to go into effect. The United States is one of those countries where piecemeal bans are in effect in certain cities and states, but not in others, as there is no federal law in place to end the use of single-use plastic straws. For example, the city of Seattle was at the forefront of banning plastic straws citywide in 2018. Shortly thereafter, Washington implemented restrictions requiring restaurants to provide single-use plastic straws only upon request. Other states that have implemented restrictions on single-use plastic straws, such as requiring them to be provided only upon request, include the following:
- California
- Maine
- New Jersey
- New York
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
Other states have tried to pass legislation to ban the use of single-use straws, only to have the bills voted down. In February 2025, a law was enacted to ban the purchase of paper straws in federal buildings nationwide.
Why Sea Turtles Eat Plastic
After being in the ocean, plastic begins to smell like the food sea turtles eat.
©Rich Carey/Shutterstock.com
Sea turtles have long been attracted to plastic in the ocean. Consequently, turtles either ingest the plastic or get caught in it. This leads to more than 1,000 sea turtles dying each year from either ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic.
Thanks to a 2020 study published in the journal Current Biology, scientists have been able to explain why sea turtles decide to eat plastic. The reason is that once a piece of plastic is in the ocean, microscopic animals, plants, and even algae begin to make a home on or in the plastic. This releases smells that sea turtles associate with food, and in turn, they eat the plastic. It does not matter where the plastic is located in the ocean; younger turtles will eat the plastic at the surface of the water, while older ones will forage toward the bottom of the ocean. Therefore, turtles of any age are susceptible to eating plastic and putting their lives at risk as a result.
It is not only the smell that attracts sea turtles to plastic; other factors include the plastic looking like a jellyfish, seagrass, or bits of algae. It could also be pure curiosity that draws sea turtles to the plastic, which can lead to entanglement. These factors are why marine biologists have been sounding the alarm for decades to stop producing single-use plastics, as plastic cannot be removed from the ocean if it continues to be produced in such massive quantities.
Alternatives to Single-Use Plastic Straws
To keep single-use plastic straws out of the ocean, individuals can choose to use straws made from other materials.
©Rich Carey/Shutterstock.com
Just because state and local governments have not officially banned single-use plastic straws does not mean individuals cannot take action to reduce their own impact on the environment. This is as easy as switching out single-use plastic straws for something more sustainable.
There is a variety of sustainable straws available on the market. Some of those straws include:
- Bamboo
- Stainless steel
- Glass
- Paper
- Hay
- Seaweed
- Flour
- Pasta
Each of these straw types has its benefits and drawbacks. But at the end of the day, each of these materials is better for the environment and poses a far smaller risk to marine life than plastic does.
The post How One Sea Turtle Sparked a Movement Against Plastic Straws appeared first on A-Z Animals.
June 16, 2025 at 05:32PMJessica Tucker.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 Comments