If someone asked you to name one environmental problem, the first idea to pop into your head would probably be the international overuse of plastic materials. The most common material waste is plastic, and this should not be a surprise. Look around, there has to be at least one plastic object around your area in this moment. As the problem continues to grow, one little plastic product is contaminating the oceans and organisms in them one use at a time: plastic straws. These little tubes are used by people every day, therefore over 500 million are thrown out in the U.S. alone daily. This is equal to filling 125 school buses with plastic straws. You might be thinking, why are straws such a problem if they can just be recycled? Well, straws have such a build that prohibits them to be recycled. This means all 500 million of these straws are thrown into landfills and oceans, harming all animals and the environment around. With millions of these products being dumped into the ocean, over 100,000 marine animals are killed each year. Another problem people don’t realize is the financial problem surrounding plastic straws. Straws are not considered a necessity in the restaurant business, which adds extra costs for owners of establishments. This can be easily solved with substitutions to plastic substances. Starbucks, for example, has been making straw-free lids and have hopes on eliminating their plastic straw usage completely by the year 2020. Many restaurant chains are switching to paper straws or even edibles straws to eliminate waste overall. Other large companies like Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott UK have completely prohibited the use of straws in their establishments. Mcdonald’s has even promised to eliminate plastic straws in Ireland and the UK within the next year. With major businesses changing their ways in order to preserve our oceans, everyone is capable of making a difference to eliminate plastic straws and even plastic materials all around.