Cleaning up oceans one straw at a time

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As a dive instructor, Harriet Spark has spent a lot of time in Manly Cove in northern Sydney, Australia.

Harriet Spark, Founder, Operation Straw. /CGTN Photo

“A friend and I used to come out here snorkeling a lot and we would find hundreds and hundreds of plastic straws in this tiny bay,” she said.

That gave Spark the idea to form Operation Straw, and organize a weekly clean-up effort.

“I thought that would be a hard sell and that people wouldn’t really want to get involved, and I was blown away with how many people would want to come down and jump in the ocean and clean our beaches up,” said Spark.

Volunteers prepare to search for plastic straws in Manly Cove. /CGTN Photo

Now up to 50 weekend warriors are willing to slip on a wetsuit and search the ocean floor for discarded single-use plastic straws. Many of the volunteers are motivated by the impact that plastic is having on the environment.

“Plastic in our oceans is one of our oceans biggest threats, it takes hundreds and hundreds of years to break up. We call it break up because plastic never breaks down and doesn’t biodegrade. It breaks up into tiny, tiny pieces and is consumed by animals throughout our food chain," said Spark.

Plastic straws found on the ocean floor. /CGTN Photo

It’s estimated that billions of plastic straws are used around the world every day. If you took all of the straws used and discarded in the US in a single day, you could fill 125 school buses.

Operation Straw is also focused on getting local businesses to change their behavior when it comes to single-use plastic. Hemmingway’s Manly has replaced plastic straws with a stainless steel alternative.

Hemmingway’s Manly now uses stainless steel straws. /CGTN Photo

“People see the good in it, using metal straws. The only ones we have to remind are the kids not to bite on them,” said manager Thomas Schoeb.

On a sun-drenched Saturday, the volunteers pulled more than 200 straws out of Manly Cove. Spark hopes their efforts will prompt more people to think about the plastic they choose to use, and the impact it has on the environment once it is thrown away.

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