Trump Was Right: Study Finds Paper Straws More Harmful to the Environment than Plastic, Contain Carcinogens

A South Korean study found that paper straws may actually be more harmful to the environment than plastic ones, when taking into account their full life cycle from manufacturing to landfill. They also have more than six times the carcinogenic impact of traditional plastic straws. President Donald Trump ended the Biden Administration’s push for paper straws last year.

The study’s findings undermine a lengthy environmental debate that spent a decade comparing plastic straws to toxic emissions, while seeking to replace them with paper tubes that collapse in people’s drinks.

South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, evaluated four types of straws — conventional plastic, paper, biodegradable plastic, and bio-based polyethylene — and their life-cycles in 16 different environmental categories.

Conventional plastic straws had the smallest environmental impact in 10 of the 16 categories, including climate change, human toxicity, particulate matter, and acidification.

Paper straws, meanwhile, had 6.33 times the carcinogenic impact of standard plastic straws, plus twice as much impact on acidifying the environment, according to the study.

Meanwhile, biodegradable plastic straws had 3.34 times the carcinogenic impact and 1.98 times the acidification impact of conventional plastic straws, the study found.

As for bio-based polyethylene straws — made from renewable materials like sugarcane — they produced 16 times the carcinogenic impact of conventional plastic straws, and six times the acidification damage, a measure of changes in ocean and soil pH.

While some may assume paper straws are preferable due to being recycled, the study shows otherwise, noting that paper straws are so small, they often pass through facility sorting machines, and virtually none of them get recycled.

Moreover, paper straws are difficult to break down due to their water-resistant coatings and industrial glues, and therefore require more energy to process, meaning microplastics can still find their way into the recycled material.

“The government must acknowledge the failure of its greenwashing policy, which fixated on ineffective substitute materials,” South Korean lawmaker Kim Wi-sang said, according to a report by the New York Post.

As Breitbart News reported, President Donald Trump questioned why liberal cities were banning plastic straws in 2019, saying, “I do think we have bigger problems than plastic straws.”

Last year, President Trump signed an executive order that ended the Biden administration’s push for paper straw usage and directed the federal government to return to using plastic straws.

Alana Mastrangelo-Wrask is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.