President Donald Trump on Friday stopped the Biden administration’s plans and supported paper straw throughout the federal government, saying they were not working and “go back to plastic.”
“Next week I’ll sign an executive order and end Biden’s stupid paper straw push, but that won’t work,” Trump posted on his true social site.
Last year, the Biden administration ordered a gradual out of single-use plastics by 2027 from federal foodservice operations, events and packaging, and by 2035 all other federal operations.
It was not clear whether Trump was planning to cancel that broad effort or if he was focused on getting the plastic straw back. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for explanation.
The US government is considered the world’s largest buyer of consumer goods, and the planned shift from plastics was seen as a key milestone in global efforts to tackle the plastic pollution crisis.
The Biden administration called the first comprehensive strategy to tackle plastic use nationwide, and aimed to reduce the demand for single-use plastic items, while also being reusable, compostable, or He said it aims to create a market for easier recyclable alternatives.
Plastic consumption has quadrupled to more than 400 million tonnes per year in the past 30 years, according to the Economic Co-operation and Development Agency’s estimates. Worldwide, experts estimate that the equivalent of one plastic garbage truck enters the ocean every minute. And recycling is struggling to keep up. Only an estimated 9% of plastic waste generated worldwide is recycled.
There is also growing concern about the health effects of microplastics on food, water and the human body. Inflammatory agents, phthalates, bisphenols, and other chemicals found in plastics can also be dangerous to human health and the environment.
The nation is negotiating with the global Plastic Waste Convention amid growing awareness that the world cannot recycle or manage it from the deluge of plastic waste. However, these talks stalled in December after pushbacks from oil and gas producers that provide plastic components.
The latest directive to bring the federal government back to plastic could support the fossil fuel industry by robbing the demand for plastic. The oil and gas companies have made large donations to Trump’s campaign.
