Paper straws, metal water bottles, reusable items.

Are they functional and making a difference or are they just trendy?

As trendy as metal straws can be, they indeed make a difference in our world. Compare these straws to plastic straws and you’ll see a complete difference. Metal straws are not reusable but they also aren’t thrown away daily. When you think about going to a fast food place you’ll normally get a plastic straw with your drink. You are one person out of the hundreds of thousands of people who will go to that fast food place. Over a million people are being given plastic straws on a daily and there are so many fast-food chains in the world that the number will increase too.

Paper straws? Not always heard of but another amazing thing to use rather than plastic straws. Paper straws are obviously trendy but can barely last up to an hour sitting in water.  Although they can’t be reused, you can recycle them instead of throwing them away;  a great benefit to the environment.

Metal water bottles are another amazing thing to use and a great way to help the ecosystem. When using a metal water bottle you can use it as much as needed and refill it however often is needed. When you use a plastic water bottle you normally drink it crumple it up and throw it in the trash, most times not even in the recycling bin but the trash. Right?  You wouldn’t do that with a metal water bottle. People will say you can refill a plastic water bottle once done with it. Truth be told yes you can, but the catch is that each time you fill those plastic ones up, chemicals from the plastic can leach into your water, including BPA’s.  Overtime, drinking from those bottles will allow the chemicals to end up in your body. In addition, with metal water bottles the personalization is up to you. One thing is for sure, you can’t really do that with a plastic water bottle.

Reusable bags are another huge one. Stores promote the usage of reusable bags instead of using plastic bags. Stores like Lucky’s Market, Natural Grocers, Sprouts and many other stores are huge promoters of using reusable bags compared to plastic. Other stores like Walmart, Safeway, King Soopers, etc; also won’t turn you away from bringing in a reusable bag. It’s better to reuse a bag than to take one and throw it away. Facts have been proven and shown that plastic bags have been found in the atmosphere as well as oceans.

Metal water bottles, metal and paper straws; they all make a difference in today’s society. You might see a hashtag save the sea turtles everywhere, but how many people fully work for it?

Generation Z has the power to make a difference. Everyone says they don’t but they do. We do. Don’t believe me? Start by going and buying yourself a metal straw and water bottle, maybe even throw in some reusable bags. Then go a week without using a plastic straw or water bottle. Bring your bags into stores when you go shopping. Let’s see how you do. Create a challenge with your friends to see who can last the longest. Make it a competition to help the earth.

As a teenager in today’s society. As a girl who sees what’s going on in the world through social media, I can and will tell you that anyone can create a change with just one message, one post, one comment. Hashtag save the earth. Let’s make it a thing.