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Turns Out Your Soggy Paper Straw Wasn’t Saving The Planet After All
A new study found that plastic straws have the lowest negative environmental impact in most of the categories — including human toxicity.
Despite being told for the last decade that paper straws are safer and more “eco-friendly” than their plastic counterparts, a new study shows that the cardboard replacement may actually be one of the worst options.
A team of researchers from South Korea recently tested four different types of straws, including paper, plastic, biodegradable plastic, and sugarcane-based (bio-based polyethylene), across 16 categories. The study found that the plastic straws had the lowest negative environmental impact in 10 of the categories — including greenhouse gas emissions and human toxicity.
Paper straws, on the other hand, scored more than six times higher than their plastic rival on the study’s measure of carcinogenic impact, according to the study by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment. The straws were also found to have more than two times the impact on environmental acidity, which means they might be contributing to pollution that makes soil and water more acidic, potentially harming plants, animals, and ecosystems.
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