2018/20:Should Australia ban plastic straws? - Web links, documents and video clips

On January 2, 2018, National Geographic published an analysis titled 'A running list of action on plastic pollution' which details action being taken worldwide to reduce plastic pollution. It includes the banning of plastic straws in restaurants in Washington DC from January 1, 2019.
The full text can be accessed at

Fight the Plastic Bag Ban is a lobby group formed to oppose bans on single-use plastic items in the United States. The group's November archives, which include their opposition to California's plastic straw ban can be accessed at

On November 19, 2018, The Daily Signal published a report titled 'DC's Ban on Plastic Straws Extends Beyond Restaurants and Bars to Churches and Day Care Centers' which outlines the range venues in which the District of Columbia will implement a new ban on single-use plastic straws and coffee stirrers from January 1, 2019.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 22, 2018, The Spirits Business published a report titled 'UK government to ban sales of plastic straws' which outlines the announcement made by the British government that it will introduce a ban, which would come into force at some point between October 2019 and October 2020, subject to a new consultation.
The full text can be accessed at

On September 28, 2018, Environmental Leader published a report titled 'Why Activists Are Questioning Corporate Plastic Straw Bans' which details opposition from disability activists to the increasing number of bans placed on plastic straws.
The full text can be accessed at

On September 20, 2018, Fortune published a report titled 'California Bans Plastic Straws in Restaurants, But Exempts Fast Food' which gives details on the first United States state-wide ban on the use of plastic straws in restaurants.
The full text can be accessed at

On September 20, 2018, Beverage Daily published a report titled 'The straw law flaw: What more can be done' which outlines the opposition from disability advocates to plastic straw bans and the concerns of some conservationist that this is tokenism on the part of corporations.
The full text can be accessed at

On September 19, 2018, ABC News published a report titled 'Sea turtles that eat 14 pieces of plastic have 50 per cent chance of dying, CSIRO study finds' which details the findings of a CSIRO report outlining the effect of plastics pollution on marine life.
The full text can be accessed at

On September 18, 2018, Stanford News published a collection of expert opinions on plastic pollution under the headline 'Last straw: The path to reducing plastic pollution'
Stanford University experts discuss the limitations of the growing number of bans on single-use plastic and the potential for meaningful change.
The full text can be accessed at

On September 17, 2018, Independent Australia published a report titled 'More plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050' which considers both the extent of the recent plastic straw bans and what more might be done to reduce the impact of plastic pollution on the world's oceans.
The full text can be accessed at

On September 13, 2018, Gimlet Media broadcast a audio giving expert opinion on the nature of the threat plastic pollution represents to the world's oceans.
The site, including supporting text materials, can be accessed at

On September 10, 2018, Virgin Australia issued a media release titled 'Virgin Australia has had the last straw' announcing the airline's intention to remove plastic straws from its inflight and lounge operations.
The full text can be found at

On September 9, 2018, The Washington Post published a report titled 'Plastic straws are little, but they are part of a huge problem' which outlines the effect of plastics pollution and considers plastic straws in particular.
The full text can be accessed at

On September 5, 2018, sacare published a comment titled 'What happens when South Australia bans the plastic straw?' which draws attention to the difficulties that would be faced by many with a disability in the event of a plastic straw ban.
The full text can be accessed at

On September 4, 2018, SBS published an analysis titled 'Why compostable plastics may be no better for the environment' The discussion examines the environmental impacts of many of the alternatives to plastic straws.
The full text can be accessed at

On August 5, 2018, ABC Science published an analysis titled 'War on Waste: Do we really use 10 million straws a day? We don't know, but it's time to count' which attempts to estimate the number of plastic straws used in Australia.
The full text can be accessed at

The conservation group For a Strawless Ocean supplies information on the extent of plastics pollution, especially the effect of plastic straws on the marine environment.
The full text can be accessed at

On July 26, 2018, Business Insider published a comment and analysis titled ' The real reason why so many cities and businesses are banning plastic straws has nothing to do with straws at all' which examines some of the motivations that can lie behind imposing bans on plastic straws and other plastic items.
The full text can be accessed at

On July 24, 2018, The Conversation published an analysis titled 'Why you shouldn't be a 'straw-man' environmentalist' by Riley Schnurr, Graduate Student, Dalhousie University, and Tony Robert Walker, Assistant Professor, Dalhousie University.
The article outlines the extent of the movement against the use of plastic straws and considers the nature of the backlash against it.
The full text can be accessed at

On June 29, 2018, The Guardian published a report titled 'If you drop plastic in the ocean, where does it end up?' which details what occurs to plastic waste in a marine environment.
The full text can be accessed at