ABOUT the film - Running time 33 minutes
Sparked by research that plastic straws are now among the top-ten beach litter items collected globally, STRAWS has been lauded as one of “the 5 documentaries to make you rethink single-use plastic.”
Sequences narrated by Tim Robbins chart the history of straws from gold in Mesopotamia to our current disposable convenience consumption of billions of non-recyclable plastic straws every day. STRAWS are one of the single-use items contributing to landfills and the estimated 8.5 million metric tons of plastic waste entering seas annually, taking decades to hundreds of years to break down to microscopic levels now pervasive in bottled and tap water, soils, and even the air we’re breathing.
Environmental researchers, marine biologists, and activists lay out how plastic pollution ends up doing irreversible harm to the ocean, marine life, and eventually human health if the problem continues to build. Sea turtles are frequent victims as they often mistake plastic for food. The researchers who discovered the straw lodged inside the nose of an endangered Costa Rican sea turtle, recount their tale over footage of their viral video.
STRAWS provides alternate, sustainable solutions such as paper, bamboo, glass, or metal straws -- and encourages the simple act of refusing a straw when at a restaurant. Empowering tales, from businesses saving money by using less single-use plastic to an 11-year old boy who enacted change in his school and community, highlight how anyone can take action to help save the world's oceans.
STRAWS is ultimately a tale about how small actions can lead to big change.
RESOURCES:
MANY RESOURCES for HOW TO TAKE ACTION in COMMUNITIES and CLASSROOMS can be found on THE PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION website and THE LAST PLASTIC STRAW where you'll find helpful no plastic straw campaign information cards, pledges and more.
CLICK ON PPC LOGO FOR RESOURCES