Plastic straws 6 times better than paper for cancer-linked carcinogens, study finds

The results counter years of activism by environmental campaigners, who have argued that plastic straws were as harmful to the environment and have advocated for a switch that left people struggling with soggy paper tubes. In the 1980s, environmentalists demanded people switch from paper bags to plastic, also to save the environment. That has since reverted.

The research, from South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, looked at four different straws to analyze their impact including paper, plastic, biodegradable plastic, and sugarcane-based. They found that traditional plastic straws have the least negative impact on the environment in 10 of 16 categories.

Additionally, paper straws were found to produce 6 times more carcinogens than plastic straws.

Because of the design, paper straws have water-resistant coatings that prevent them from being broken down and microplastics will likely end up being mixed in with them anyway.

The "Bio-PE" straws, which are used from biodegradable sources such as sugarcane, had 16 times the carcinogens as plastic straws.

South Korean lawmaker Kim Wi-sang slammed the production of the paper straws and activists who have pushed them, saying, “The government must acknowledge the failure of its greenwashing policy, which fixated on ineffective substitute materials," per the New York Post.

Despite this study and others, Democrat-run states have implemented plastic straw bans, forcing everyone to use the soggy tubes when they go out to eat at restaurants. States that have restricted plastic straws in restaurants include California, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and others.