Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday (Feb 10) to bring back plastic straws, ending the use of paper straws.

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The US president has ordered federal agencies and departments to stop purchasing paper straws and make sure they aren’t offered in their buildings.

Paper straws ‘don't work’

“It’s a ridiculous situation. We’re going back to plastic straws,” Trump told reporters at the White House as he signed the order. He added that paper straws “don’t work”, saying “I’ve had them many times, and on occasion, they break, they explode.”

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The order rolls back the policy to phase out the use of all single-use plastic products by 2032 put in place under former president Joe Biden’s administration.

“The irrational campaign against plastic straws has forced Americans to use nonfunctional paper straws. This ends under President Trump,” the White House said in a statement.

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“Paper straws are more expensive than plastic straws,” it added. “Paper straws are not the eco-friendly alternative they claim to be – studies have shown that producing paper straws can have a larger carbon footprint and require more water than plastic straws. Paper straws often come individually wrapped in plastic, undermining the environmental argument for their use.”

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Trump brushes aside environmental concerns

Plastic straws have been considered harmful to the oceans and marine life. However, the president said that he thinks “it’s OK” to continue using plastic straws. “I don’t think that plastic is going to affect the shark very much as they’re ... munching their way through the ocean,” he said at a White House on Monday (Feb 10).

White House staff secretary Will Scharf said that paper straws have cost the government and private industry “an absolute tonne of money and left consumers all over the country wildly dissatisfied with their straws.”

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"It really is something that affects ordinary Americans in their everyday lives," Scharf said.

As per the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), approximately 85 per cent of single-use plastic products for food and beverage containers end up in landfills. According to a study by the World Wildlife Fund, at least 100,000 marine animals die due to plastic pollution every year.

Apart from marine life, microplastics are also found in human bodies, water, and even air, which significantly impact health.

‘Back to Plastic’

The plastic manufacturing industry is praising the president’s decision, according to The Guardian report.

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“Straws are just the beginning,” president and CEO of the Plastics Industry Association Matt Seaholm said in a statement. “‘Back to Plastic’ is a movement we should all get behind.”

(With inputs from agencies)