Article in USA Today titled Plastic straws ban is quite a straw man. Black and white tag at the top of the article reads opinion. Article is by The editorial team. Subhead reads Plastic straws make up only about 2,000 tons of the nearly 9 million tons of the ocean’s plastic waste: Our view. Article reads Are plastic straws an even greater menace to society than plastic guns? You might think so, given this summer's upsurge in anti-straw activism. The movement to ban single-use, plastic straws has gained momentum across the USA, pushed along by a heart-wrenching viral video of a sea turtle with a straw lodged in its nose. Plastic straws are simple, inexpensive devices that perform their purpose well. That's why they are so ubiquitous. But unlike other plastics, straws are so small and lightweight that they often get left out of the recycling process. People forget to recycle them. Or machines accidentally sort them out, causing them to end up in landfills and waterways. Although plastic straws make up only about 2,000 tons of the nearly 9 million tons of the ocean’s plastic waste, they have suddenly become a symbol of all the unnecessary trash that ends up in the ocean, plus everything that's wrong with the nation's throwaway society. Images of a Starbucks coffee and straws.