Sustainable management of drinking plastic straws is required to reduce plastic pollution: Are we using them more during COVID-19?

Abstract

Nowadays, single-use plastic pollution attracts the attention of scholars, policymakers, and practitioners. In addition to personal protective equipment (PPEs) waste during the COVID-19 pandemic, other unpreceded plastic wastes such as packaging from online shopping and food delivery, viruses confirmatory testing, and drinking straws also contributed to pollution and worsened around the globe. This perspective aimed to provide insights into drinking plastic straws as an important source of plastic pollution. Literature searches confirmed that drinking plastic straws, unlike PPEs, have not been researched whether it is an important contributor to pollution or not during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, research on the pollution level of this plastic waste and its association with COVID-19 is required. Drinking straw producers and users require adequate strategies and management of this plastic pollution and more widespread rules and regulations to prevent environmental implications and health risks. This study can usefully give highlights for environmentalists, solid waste management experts, policymakers, and governments by describing the environmental impact and raising health risks of drinking plastic straw pollution.

Keywords: Health risks; Microplastics; Plastic litters; Plastic management; Sustainable alternatives.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

Published research visualization by using the term "drinking plastic straws”, "pollution" (A, B); "drinking plastic straws”, "pollution", “COVID-19″ (C, D) in the ISI Web of Science.