The United States goes through over 500 million plastic straws every day. They get used for only a few minutes, but potentially last forever in the ocean, and are among the top 10 pollutants collected during beach cleanups. Plastic straws kill marine life and choke reefs and beaches, never decomposing completely, but instead breaking into bits of microplastics, which eventually enter the food chain. ask yourself: do i really need to use one? and if so, pack reusable straws of bamboo or stainless steel.