Free Republic

In a report just released, the National Academy of Sciences takes America to task for being the world’s biggest contributor of the plastic refuse that finds its way into to the oceans. But the claim needs closer examination. Credible prior reporting has estimated, on a country-by-country basis, the seaward flux of packaging materials: plastic bottles, bags, eating and drinking utensils, and sundry other consumer items afloat on ocean currents. Study outcomes may vary and yield somewhat divergent results, accountable from differing methodologies reliant on the modeling assumptions used, but their overall agreement is consistent. Neither cited study supports NAS’s contention...

A Chicago company hopes to thrive, despite making a product under fire this summer. Plastic drinking draws have recently been seen as a public enemy, according to many environmentalists. Machines spit out straws at a dizzying rate inside a factor on Chicago’s far South side. The machines produce so many straws every year, Bob Beavers III, the Chairman of Best Diamond Plastics, says “the number of straws we produce begins with a b.” Best Diamond Plastics is a company that has seen an uptick in business, despite the anti-straw movement. “Some of our competitors have turned off their straw machines....

Starbucks is going strawless. The coffee company announced Monday that it will phase out plastic straws from all of its stores by 2020. The changes will help Starbucks (SBUX) eliminate more than 1 billion plastic straws per year, the company said. Plastic straws contribute to ocean pollution and pose a danger to marine life. Some governments have begun banning them. To eliminate straws, Starbucks is transitioning from the flat, plastic lids that require them, to ones that feature a raised lip you can drink from. The new designs have drawn comparisons to an adult "sippy cup." Frappuccino drinks will still...