National Skip the Straw Day Date in the current year: February 27, 2026

Drinking straws have been around for thousands of years. The Sumerians, for example, made straws to drink beer. However, mass-produced plastic straws are a relatively recent invention. Cellophane drinking straws were invented in 1930, but the mass production of plastic drinking straws did not become widespread until after World War II. Today, drinking straws are most commonly made of polypropylene. They are ubiquitous in food establishments and takeout orders around the world.

Unfortunately, plastic straws have a significant environmental impact. It is estimated that about 500 million plastic straws are used every day in the United States alone. Most of these straws are not recycled because they are small and lightweight and often contaminated with food residue. Consequently, they usually end up in landfills or as litter, contributing to environmental pollution.

Plastic straws that end up in the ocean harm marine animals, including sea turtles, seabirds, and fish. They can become entangled in straws or ingest them, mistaking them for food. This can result in internal injury, blockages, or starvation. In 2015, a video went viral of Dr. Nathan J. Robinson removing a plastic straw from a turtle’s nostril, sparking discussions about the harm of single-use plastics.

Polypropylene does not degrade; it slowly breaks up into small pieces called microplastics that pollute ecosystems and may cause health problems when ingested. The effects of microplastic ingestion are still being studied. It takes about two centuries for a plastic straw to decompose completely. This means that every plastic straw ever produced is still out there somewhere, releasing microplastics into the environment.

According to the environmental advocacy group Ocean Conservancy, plastic straws are among the top ten items collected during coastal cleanups. Although they represent only a small fraction of total plastic waste by weight, drinking straws have become emblematic of single-use plastic items that are briefly used but persist in ecosystems for a long time, causing significant harm.

The Coral Keepers, a group of environmentally conscious high school students from Whitehall, Michigan, and their advisor Susan Tate launched National Skip the Straw Day in 2017. They wanted to raise awareness about the environmental harm caused by plastic straws and encourage Americans to ditch single-use plastic straws in favor of biodegradable or reusable alternatives.

There are many ways to participate in National Skip the Straw Day. You can promise to switch to biodegradable paper straws or reusable bamboo, glass or metal straws, as well as to use fewer single-use plastic items in general. You can also organize a cleanup event in your community and count how many plastic straws you find, donate to an organization that combats plastic pollution, and spread the word about the campaign on social media with the hashtags #SkipTheStrawDay and #NationalSkipTheStrawDay.