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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Rowan chapter.

Thanks to the VSCO girl trend everyone and their mother has suddenly switched to reusable straws. The world was on a mission to save the turtles and the earth. Every time I have a sip of water I feel a bit more environmentally conscious. But, now that the trend has died down a little bit I’ve been seeing fewer and less reusable straws. I know that I’m guilty of forgetting my straw and having to resort back to plastic. In an attempt to reinvigorate myself to carry my reusable straw more often I’ve been looking up statistics about single-use straws. Here are a few reasons to say no to plastic straws for good:

Plastic straws have a long life.

It takes about 2,000 years for plastic straws to decompose. But, as we know, plastic just doesn’t go away. It’ll more than likely make its way into our oceans. Reusable straws have a long life too;you’ll be able to carry them around your bag for years without worrying about negatively harming the environment.

You can create an environmental impact and a social impact.

It’s important for me to support black-owned businesses. It’s also important for me to be environmentally conscious in my daily life. To kill two birds with one stone I’m purchasing reusable straws from black-owned businesses. 

It’s Nearly Impossible to Recycle Plastic Straws.

According to the Washington Post plastic straws are more likely to, “fall through machines that sorts through recycling.”. Because of this they’ll more than likely always end up in a landfill…or the ocean. Reusable straws are more environmentally friendly than regular plastic.

Normalizing reusable straws helps people with disabilities.

Some people need to use straws. The plastic straw bans are good in theory but it does harm people with disabilities who rely on straws. Investing and popularizing reusable straws funds companies to explore how to create a sustainable option for people who really need straws.

Reusable straws are cute.

I’m the type of person who likes to be surrounded by things that look nice. Having a cute straw is way better than a plastic one.

Destiny is currently enrolled in Columbia University's MFA Writing program. She is a national writer at Her Campus and the former editor-in-chief of Her Campus Rowan. She likes thrifting, romance novels, cooking shows, and can often be found binging documentaries.