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Study Exposes Ugly Truth Behind Paper Straws

A new study suggests that paper straws may not be the solution to environmental concerns.

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Paper straws may be worse for the environment than the plastic ones they replaced, a new study has revealed. The South Korean government-commissioned study compared plastic, paper, biodegradable and sugarcane-based straws across 16 measures of environmental and human health impact. Paper straws had more than six times the estimated carcinogenic impact of the other options and more than twice the impact on environmental acidity, potentially because of the coatings and adhesives used to make them. The study also found they’re hard to recycle in practice, as their small size makes them hard for facilities to separate. The study sparked outrage in South Korea, with lawmaker Kim Wi-Sang saying, “The government must acknowledge the failure of its greenwashing policy, which fixated on ineffective substitute materials.” The push for alternatives to plastic straws came amid concerns about marine mammals and seabirds ingesting them. States including California, New York and New Jersey have all cracked down on the use of plastic straws.