The president of the United States, Donald Trump, signed an executive order ending the bans on plastic straws and announcing the elimination of the use of paper straws, adopted for ecological reasons in large cities, states, and companies.
The order argues that paper straws are not functional, use chemicals that may pose health risks, are more expensive to produce, and often require the use of multiple straws. Additionally, many come wrapped in plastic, undermining the environmental argument.
Trump considers the campaign against plastic straws as “irrational”. The executive order, signed on Monday night, also includes a 25% tariff on U.S. imports of aluminum and steel.
The decree establishes that “the policy of the United States is to end the use of paper straws” and orders state procurement officials to take steps to eliminate the acquisition of paper straws and ensure they are not provided in government buildings. Additionally, it instructs the President’s Assistant for Domestic Policy to issue a “National Strategy to end the use of paper straws” within 45 days.
The Democratic government of Joe Biden approved a plan last year to gradually reduce single-use plastics in government departments, with the goal of eliminating them by 2035. Trump, who decided to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, aimed at combating global warming, thus challenges this environmental policy.
The “The Last Plastic Straw” movement, part of the Coalition Against Plastic Pollution, estimates that in the United States, over 500 million plastic straws are used daily. They criticize that over the past two decades, plastic straws have become a minimal convenience that generates extreme waste and a source of plastic pollution.
Among the companies that have replaced plastic straws with paper straws are Disney, Starbucks, and Alaska Airlines.
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