WASHINGTON, February 11. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has signed a decree ordering government agencies to abandon the purchase of paper drinking straws in favor of plastic ones, and develop a national strategy to reinstate plastic straws across the country, said the White House website.
The Joe Biden administration implemented measures to reduce the use of single-use plastic for the sake of the environment. The government ordered all budget organizations to abandon plastic straws and encourage businesses to switch to paper alternatives.
Trump's order denounces this policy as "irrational," and calls the use of paper straws as "non-functional." Separately, the document emphasizes that some studies say that production and use of paper straws can be more harmful to the environment due to the use of chemicals, high emissions, and other factors. The national strategy, whose development is requested, should develop measures to discourage businesses from using paper drinking straws.
"This is a ridiculous situation. We are going back to plastic straws," Trump told reporters, while signing the order. "I don’t think that plastic is going to affect a shark very much as they’re munching their way through the ocean."
The Associated Press reported citing data from the environmental group Turtle Island Restoration Network, that about 390 million drinking straws are used daily in the United States. Several states and cities have banned the use of plastic straws on their territory.