On February 10, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to ban the federal use of paper straws, saying they “don’t work” and “don’t last very long”. He’s implementing the government exclusively move to plastic. This action reverses federal purchasing policies that encouraged paper straws and restricted plastic ones. The move by President Trump targets a Biden administration policy to phase out federal purchases of single-use plastics from food service operations by 2027, and entirely by 2035

Plastic straws have been a source of environmental controversies for years. Plastic straws have been blamed for polluting oceans and harming marine life. Several U.S. states and cities have banned plastic straws and some restaurants no longer automatically give them to customers. I reached out to an environmentalist from Oak Creek, Chris Steiner, about the impact plastic straws have on Lake Michigan. When I asked about Trump’s executive order, he replied “To be completely honest, President Trump signed that order with a lack of concern for the environment. Plastic straws are sea creature killers. Over 100,000 sea creatures die every year due to the ingestion of plastic. This will increase with the new order, especially in areas like Lake Michigan”. From the perspective of a local environmentalist who lives about ten minutes away from Lake Michigan, this new executive order isn’t good for the environment. The new order will create an increased use of plastics and Steiner believes it will create more pollution and cause more environmental problems.

Locally, the new order has appeared to favor the community despite its harmful environmental effects. Lauren Dethridge, a junior at UW-Whitewater studying biology, has said that plastic straws aren’t as a big deal as other plastic ending up in the ocean. “Less than 1% of the plastic in the ocean is from plastic straws. The paper straws don’t work and taste gross. I’m in no way a Trump supporter but I am in favor of this new order”, she stated. Many other students on the campus of UW-Whitewater have agreed with this statement and even added that plastic straws could help save costs. I spoke with Ryan Roubik, a senior business major from UW-Whitewater who works in a plastics factory, said he was informed that he will get an increase in pay at the factory because of the new executive order. “There’s a higher demand for plastic straws now,” he said. Plastic straws seemingly have more than just an environmental impact.

With the new executive order in place, it has received mixed feedback from different perspectives. The United States is among the leaders in the plastic industry and with the new order, it will increase its reputation. The new order is known as the start of the end for paper straws.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/trump-plastic-straws-pollution-oceans-packaging-e64e2671bbf7f8a8abaec0d5a491f7de