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Apr 30, 2025 : Wesley Black
Uncategorized
Plastic Straws Are Small Items But Big Problems | A Hiker’s Perspective
Hey folks, it’s been a LONG time since I last wrote a blog, but here I am. My wife and I have done quite a bit of hiking and aim to discuss it, but today I want to share my perspective on something that seems trivial despite it actually being a huge problem. I’ll stay as far from politics as I can and focus on the environmental component, but politics are what brought up this subject in the first place. I promise it all loops into hiking.
In February 2025, the administration signed an Executive Order (EO) promoting the use of plastic straws and banning Federal use of paper straws. It seems silly, right? As the President signed the EO he made an attempted joke about the quality of plastic straws versus paper, but then also remarks that sharks chomping their way through the ocean will be just fine. That last bit is the part I want to zoom in on a bit…
Two terms: trophic cascade, and biomagnification.
You may be thinking, “What the actual McFrosty is he talking about? An EO for plastic straws?…does he invest in Big Plastic? Do his friends?” The answer is, I do not know, and that’s not my interest. What I do care about is the integrity of our environment.
Yes, plastic harms sea life. Plastic harms plant life. Plastic harms us. It’s irremovable from our systems now- soils, watersheds, wildlife, our bodies, and yes, even the kiddos we give birth to. So PLEASE, for the love of all that is good, do not use plastic straws. In fact, do as much as you can to remove plastic from your daily life. It seems convenient and cheap, but it’s actually pretty darn bad for you, and you/we can’t even see it with the naked eye most times.
Let me briefly explain what a trophic cascade is, and then biomagnification. A shark eats many different types of objects, not just living things- it happens. Big plastic pieces could clog a shark’s GI tract and possibly kill it, sure. But also, a shark eats smaller prey (or larger) that also consume other prey species or vegetation. A trophic (related to feeding and nutrition) cascade (successive passing on or acquisition of) is just that, a series of things eating and consuming other things, either down the food chain to the smallest plant or critter consumed, or up the food chain to the biggest critter out there. As everything out there has a high likelihood of containing plastic (since it’s seemingly ubiquitous), each organism that eats something thereby consumes all the plastic (and mercury, and other toxins often stored in adipose tissue- aka fat) that their prey (or plant) contained, and so on down the line. You’ve seen the big fish-eating little fish games and Finding Nemo, right? So, when a larger species, such as a shark, consumes something that has, let’s say, eaten 1 fish that ate a smaller fish that ate an even smaller fish, then that shark has just effectively consumed 3 organisms and all their contaminants. It’s important to note that plants may also take up and store pollutants in their tissues as well. That’s biomagnification.
The more plastic waste we send to the landfill or dump in the ocean, the more plastic (think micro and nanoplastics too, really small stuff, not just grocery bags or straws) there’s likely to be in those fishes that the shark eat. You know what else consumes fish from the ocean (and freshwater sources inland)? We do. Plastics are also found in our terrestrial food sources as well. So again, the same applies to landfills here- the more plastic we create and then dump into our landfills, the higher likelihood that the grass your steak ate was that much higher in plastic contaminants, and well, you just ate that steak. Trash and plastic have a weird way of not staying put but quite a few methods of travel.
So, the picture is much bigger than a joke about a shark; the picture relates directly to us protecting our planet and our own health.
Why is plastic bad? It’s been found (scientifically through years and years of research by PhD holders) to create cellular oxidative stress which can increase cancer risk, decrease fertility, increase risk of birth defects, decrease plant growth and photosynthesis rates, and so on. And of course, larger plastics are wildlife choking hazards.
And now, the hiking bit. As hikers, and especially thru-hikers, we offer a pretty tiny carbon footprint as opposed to the normal human commuting to work, heading to the bar afterwards, maybe grilling on their back patio for dinner, etc. However, that does not mean we are blameless in the pollution of our planet. On the topic of plastics, everything has to go somewhere, and it can take plastics centuries to breakdown. As they do, they become micro and then nanoplastics, all pretty bad. So, my ask of all those reading here is to (1) be mindful of the trash you take and that you pack it back out to your car or a trash can, and (2) please pick up at least 1 piece of trash you see on a hiking trail, even if it’s not yours. Plastic is better to pick up than someone else’s toilet paper, and also a bit less gross. It’s true, that makes an extremely miniscule dent in the pollution locomotion we are experiencing, especially near cities and factories, but it’s something, and it’s something that you yourself have the power to do. Each straw or protein bar wrapper or water bottle you remove from our ecosystems is one less piece of trash that can pollute our soils and watersheds, especially those a bit more removed from “civilization”. What’s an extra quarter ounce in your pack for the betterment of our planet?
To bring it all full circle, maybe try drinking without a straw and save those resources 
as well, plastic and paper straws alike. Most things offer some level of pollution even in their production, something we rarely see. Pick and choose your battles, but please…always fight for Mother Earth.
as well, plastic and paper straws alike. Most things offer some level of pollution even in their production, something we rarely see. Pick and choose your battles, but please…always fight for Mother Earth.Environmental protection is cool stuff, not destroying it. So yeah, lame joke.
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Comments 4
Thank you so much for posting this..accurate information and consequences vitally important.
Take care
Hey Faith! Thanks for taking the time to read!
Thank you very much for articulating all the reason single use plastics are bad. I’ve been trying to win hearts and minds on this topic for a while.
Thanks for your comment, Ryan! Yup, it’s a hard subject to convince folks of because of plastic’s convenience and ubiquitous nature, but we do what we can and hope for impact!