President Trump has signed an executive order directing the federal government to return to using plastic straws.
“We're going back to plastic straws,” he said, adding that the paper straw “isn't going well.”
The move comes after former President Biden set the goal of phased out the government's use of single-use plastics.
At the time, the Biden White House said that increasing plastic production and waste “scatters our oceans, poisons the air in communities near our production facilities and threatens public health.”
Plastic is like that Produced using oil and gasand promoting the use of materials could be a victory for Trump's allies in the energy and plastics industry.
Plastic enemies are concerned about the prevalence of small microplastics in the environment. Exposure to microplastics It is linked To the issues of brain and reproductive development in animal research.
It is not entirely clear which types of straw will replace plastics in federal use under the Biden Directive, but other types, including paper, could also pose environmental and health concerns. a A study found for 2023 A compound known as PFA makes the material water resistant and can be toxic, but has been found in almost every type of straw, including paper and bamboo.
