In 2017, a group of middle -schoolers in Michigan created National Skip the Straw Day to fight plastic pollution.

National Skip the Straw Day falls on Friday, Feb. 22 this year.

I am skipping the straw on Friday because our planet and our home deserve to be kept healthy and happy (and the sea turtles don’t deserve straws stuck up their noses).

But we need to do more than skip the straw on one day. We need to skip plastic pollution – single-use plastic bags, straws, cutlery, and polystyrene cups and containers – every day. Plastic pollution doesn’t biodegrade, so it takes hundreds of years to break down. That gives it lots of time to be eaten by animals from whales and fish to birds and earthworms.

Plastic fragments have been found ingested by literally hundreds of animal species, negatively impacting everything from sea turtles and whales to birds and earthworms. As a headwaters state, our plastic pollution not only harms our communities and local watersheds but also sends pollution downstream.

I am calling on Rep. Barbara McLachlan and Sen. Don Coram to prioritize our environment by taking strong action to reduce plastic pollution in Colorado.

JoJo Johnstone

Durango