Trump pushes for plastic straws, declares paper ones ‘don’t work’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is moving to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, declaring that paper straws “don’t work.”

Trump signed an executive order Monday, saying: “It’s a ridiculous situation. We’re going back to plastic straws”

The move by Trump — who has long railed against paper straws, and whose 2019 reelection campaign sold Trump-branded reusable plastic straws for $15 per pack of 10 — targets a Biden administration policy to phase out federal purchases of single-use plastics, including straws, from food service operations, events and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035.

“Enjoy your next drink without a straw that disgustingly dissolves in your mouth!!!” Trump said on his Truth Social site over the weekend, in a post that declared former President Joe Biden’s policy “DEAD!”

Plastic and pollution

Several U.S. states and cities have banned plastic straws because they pollute oceans and waterways and harm marine life. Some restaurants no longer automatically give plastic straws to customers. But plastic straws are only a small part of the problem. The environment is littered with single-use plastic food and beverage containers — water bottles, takeout containers, coffee lids, shopping bags and more.

Around the world, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic enters the ocean every minute from a range of sources, including plastic bags, toothbrushes, bottles, food packaging and more, experts say. As those materials break down in the environment, microplastics are turning up in the stomachs of fish, birds and other animals, as well as in human blood and tissue.

And plastic manufacturing releases planet-warming greenhouse gases and other dangerous pollutants. More than 90% of plastic products are derived from fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, and millions of tons of plastic waste enter the world’s oceans every year. Many multinational companies have moved away from plastic straws and have made reducing plastic use across their operations central to their sustainability goals, making Trump’s decision an outlier in the business world.

Plastic straw order is “more about messaging”

Trump’s order is “more about messaging than finding solutions,″ said Christy Leavitt, plastics campaign director for the environmental group Oceana, noting that most U.S. voters support requiring companies to reduce single-use plastic packaging and foodware.

“President Trump is moving in the wrong direction on single-use plastics,” Leavitt said. “The world is facing a plastic pollution crisis, and we can no longer ignore one of the biggest environmental threats facing our oceans and our planet today.”

Plastic pollution has been found on the surface of the sea, washing up on remote coastlines, melting out of Arctic sea ice and sitting at the deepest point of the ocean floor, Leavitt said. “It is everywhere.”

The plastic manufacturing industry applauded Trump’s move.

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

Plastic straws by the numbers

More than 390 million straws are used every day in the United States, mostly for 30 minutes or less, according to advocacy group Straws Turtle Island Restoration Network. Straws take at least 200 years to decompose and pose a threat to turtles and other wildlife as they degrade into microplastics, the group says.

“To prevent another sea turtle from becoming a victim to plastic, we must make personal lifestyle alterations to fight for these species,” the group said in a statement.

Every year, the world produces more than 400 million tons of new plastic. About 40% of all plastics are used in packaging, according to the United Nations.

Globally, nations are creating a treaty to address plastic pollution. Leaders met for a week in South Korea late last year but didn’t reach an agreement. Talks resume this year as more than 100 countries pursue a pact that limits plastic production as well as tackles cleanup and recycling.

The U.S., China and Germany are the biggest players in the global plastics trade. U.S. manufacturers have asked Trump to remain at the negotiating table, and to revert to Biden’s previous position that focused on redesigning plastic products, recycling and reuse.

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Associated Press writer Jennifer McDermott in Providence, R.I., contributed to this story.