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“Americans use more than 500 million plastic straws every day,” said Silberkleit, “and virtually all of these single-use items then go into our waste stream as another source of plastic pollution. It’s good to see major cities like Seattle taking action, with others like New York, Oakland, Miami and even entire states like Hawaii and California considering legislation.”
According to Silberkleit, the new comic, titled “Straw Thinking,” will help bring awareness to young readers and, hopefully, galvanize them to push for action in their cities and states. It features Scarlett, the first comic book character who is on the spectrum. She goes to Pop’s Diner with her family and friends Betty and Veronica and orders a milkshake. Pop proudly brings the treat, with a re-usable stainless steel straw to replace the disposable plastic straws he had been using. “No more plastic straws at my shop,” he proclaims.
Plastic straws are part of some 30 million tons of plastic discarded every year in the U.S. Only eight percent of those plastics get recycled. The remainder becomes non-biodegradable landfill waste or pollutants.
Silberkleit said this is not the first time Archie has promoted environmental awareness through its comics. "Getting Drastic with Plastic,” with script by noted comic book writer/illustrators Batton Lash and Bill Galvin, is part of Issue 31 of the Archie & Friends Digest series from last year. The story of how Archie and his friends learn about plastic waste and take action to reduce it in Riverdale comes with a 5-page Science Teaching Guide defined by Common Core Standards.
"Getting Drastic with Plastic" begins at the imaginary Riverdale High School, where Archie's friend Veronica is inspired into action by a speaker at a school assembly. In the assembly, the ambassador from Rwanda shares with students that nation’s program that banned plastic bags throughout Rwanda to help decrease
“Straw Thinking” can be ordered for $0.99 by Paypal from [email protected] Also, copies of "Getting Drastic with Plastic" are available digitally for $3.99 at http://bit.ly/1Awwrt2. A special teaching guide can be downloaded free by contacting Nancy Silberkleit at [email protected] or calling 914 450-9880. Braille copies of the story are also available, at no cost, by contacting Silberkleit.
Silberkleit speaks to teachers and young people nationally and worldwide on a variety of issues including bullying and environmental awareness, and her talks have been well-received by audiences as far as the African continent and India.
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