Trump signs executive order restoring plastic straw use in government

President Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to return to using plastic straws.

“We’re going back to plastic straws,” he said, adding that paper straws “don’t work.”

The move comes after former President Biden set a goal of phasing out the government’s use of single-use plastics.

At the time, the Biden White House said that an increase in plastic production and waste has been “littering our ocean, poisoning the air of communities near production facilities, and threatening public health.”

Plastics are produced using oil and gas, and promoting the use of the material could be a win for Trump’s allies in the energy industry as well as the plastics industry. 

Plastic’s opponents raise concerns about the prevalence of tiny microplastics in the environment. Exposure to microplastics has been linked to issues with brain and reproductive development in animal studies. 

While it’s not totally clear what type of straws, if any, would have replaced plastic in federal use under the Biden directive, other types, including paper, may also pose environmental and health concerns. A 2023 study found that compounds known as PFAS, which make materials water resistant but can be toxic, were found in almost all types of straws, including paper and bamboo.