The President directed the Federal government in the US to stop purchasing paper straws. It further directed the development of a National Strategy to end the use of paper straws within 45 days across the United States of America.
Feb 14, 2025
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to encourage the use of plastic drinking straws and end the era of paper straws, at least in the White House.
Passed on February 10, 2025, the order directed the government authorities in the US to stop purchasing paper straws and ensure that they were no longer provided within the federal buildings.
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In order to alleviate the forced use of paper straws nationwide, the government would develop a National Strategy to end the use of paper straws within 45 days, said a statement issued by the White House.
It further listed the harmful effects of paper straws as well as the pressure mounted on consumers to choose the alternative to plastic, which, according to the US President, was not only expensive, but also caused harm to the environment, contrary to popular beliefs.
Paper straws used chemicals such as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). The highly water soluble chemical could bleed from the straw into a drink, posing serious risk to human health, it said. The statement further mentioned a study, which said that while PFAS were found in paper straws, no measurable PFAS were found in plastic straws.
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Noting that paper straws were also not as eco-friendly an alternative to plastic as they claimed to be, the statement cited studies showing that producing paper straws could have a larger carbon footprint and required more water than plastic straws. Besides, paper straws often came individually wrapped in plastic, undermining the environmental argument for their use, it added.
