Trump Reverses Biden's Paper Straw Mandate, Why It’s a Blow to Plastic Pollution Efforts?

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 10 directing the United States to reverse the federal purchasing policies that encourage paper straws and restrict single-use plastics, including straws from food service operations, events and packaging by 2027 and from all federal operations by 2035.

He claimed that paper straws “don't work” and don’t last very long, reported Associated Press. “It's a ridiculous situation. We're going back to plastic straws,” Trump added.

 “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!”

In July, 2024, Biden had resolved to “phase out” plastics in federal food service, with the end of procurement due in 2027, reported New York Post.

In line with the resolve, several US 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, reported Associated Press.

While Trump’s policy reversal may seem lucrative for plastic industry interests, its long-term impact on plastic pollution, could reverse significant progress made during Biden’s term and undermine efforts to address the wider issue of plastic waste disposal.

Read More: Trump Withdraws from Paris Accord, Plans to Declare 'National Energy Emergency'

The Plastic Crisis

According to World Economic Forum report, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the oceans every minute. The WEF report further suggests that this unchecked dumping could lead a future where this range will increase to two trucks per minute by 2030 and four per minute by 2050.  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, as per a study published in the journal Microplastics in Fish and Fishery Products and Risks for Human Health: A Review.

The continued use of single-use plastics, like straws, contributes significant to this issue, magnifying the harmful effects on marine on marine life and the environment. Another factor associated with plastic manufacturing is that it releases planet-warming greenhouse gases and other dangerous pollutants. According to Greenpeace, over 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.

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 200-500 years to decompose and continue to be a threat to turtles and other wildlife as they degrade into microplastics.

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