Journal 17: Paper straw

 

Recently, I discovered that the straws in fast-food restaurants have become paper straws.As far as I'm concerned, this is a good environmental measure because I'm under the impression that plastic straws are used a lot and are mostly used for single-use. And the recycling value of plastic is very low, resulting in a small amount of recycling. On average, as many as 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute oceans and beaches each year, according to the data.

As far as I know, plastic straws can take hundreds of years to break down completely and last up to 200 years in landfills. They are likely to become entangled in the ocean, where they break down into smaller microplastics that are eventually absorbed by fish and marine life.

Unlike plastic, paper straws break down back to the ground in two to six weeks. Paper straws, on the other hand, are fully biodegradable and compostable. If they do fall into the ocean, they will begin to break down naturally in as little as three days.

Of course, the best solution would be to not use straws at all, which would reduce the carbon footprint of making straws.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Journal 8: Madreselva Building / Vicca Verde

Image
  The Madreselva Building in Peru is a low-cost sustainable ecological Building designed by Vicca Verde in 2014. The building is located in the heart of the city, which is often lacking in greenery in modern cities, and this was one of the issues to be considered at the beginning of the project. The project takes into account the efficient use of materials and resources, and the local wood is specially treated to meet the requirements of being built as a tall building. In addition, it is environmentally friendly from the beginning of construction to the end of its life. This is helped by the use of recyclable materials that have a low environmental impact. Moreover, the rainwater collection system of the building can be used to irrigate the green plants around the building and realize the internal circulation system of the building. As a result, the design not only enhances the quality of life of the building, but also enables it to function well in low cost maintenance conditions. In
Read more

Journal 13 : Geothermal heat pump

Image
 The Geothermal heat pump system, and efficient renewable energy technology, has been widely accepted in residential and commercial buildings. Geothermal heat pumps are used for space heating and cooling and water heating. The advantage of ground source heat pumps is that they concentrate heat that occurs naturally, rather than generating heat by burning fossil fuels. Geothermal heat pumps can be used to provide domestic hot water when the system is running. Many residential systems are now equipped with thermostats, which transfer excess heat from the compressor of a geothermal heat pump to the house's hot water tank. When the local heat pump system is not working, the desuperheater does not provide hot water in spring and autumn. But because geothermal heat pumps are so much more efficient than other forms of hot water, manufacturers are starting to offer "full demand" systems, which use a single heat exchanger to meet all a home's hot water needs. These facilities
Read more

Journal 1: Kamuthi Solar Project

Image
        Image: Kamuthi Solar Project, source from: Greencitytimes India was the first country in the world to establish an official government agency for non-traditional energy, the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. India has been trying to find more sustainable sources of energy since the 1980s. The mission of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is to "increase the share of clean energy, increase its availability, improve its accessibility, increase energy affordability and maximize energy equity", with India aiming to provide solar power to more than 60 million Indian homes by 2022. The Kamuthi Solar Project is a solar photovoltaic (PV) farm capable of providing 648 megawatts of power. It is located in the town of Kamuthi, Ramanathapuram, India. It has more than 2.5 million individual Solar PV modules on 2,500 acres. The Kamuthi solar project provides energy to about 300,000 homes. Moreover, the project cost $710 million and became operational in 2016. Grow
Read more