President Donald Trump has said he will end what he called a “ridiculous” Biden-era push to phase out single-use plastics in federal agencies by 2035 in efforts to combat plastic pollution, claiming in a social media post that paper straws, a popular alternative, “don’t work.”
President Donald Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 6, 2025.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump promised the executive order will come next week, adding, “BACK TO PLASTIC!”
Former President Joe Biden last summer signed an executive order to phase out all single-use plastic products in federal food service, packaging and events by 2027 and to eliminate all single-use plastic products across U.S. federal government agencies by 2035.
In 2022, the Department of the Interior also said it planned to phase out all single-use plastic products on Department-managed lands by 2032, including plastic food and beverage containers, bottles, straws, cups, cutlery and disposable plastic bags.
It’s unclear which initiatives Trump plans to target with the upcoming executive order, but this isn’t the first time he’s expressed his disdain for paper alternatives to plastic straws.
In 2020, he attacked them during a campaign rally: "They want to ban straws. Has anyone tried those paper straws? They're not working too good," he said. "It disintegrates as you drink it, and if you have a nice tie like this tie, you've got no choice."
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Paper straws at the Jar Bar Bakery in Monhton, Pennsylvania.
In 2019, Trump sold thousands of branded plastic straws on his campaign website, calling them an alternative to "liberal" paper straws. The straws, which sold for $15 for 10, initially sold out online, Trump's campaign manager reported. The straws were bright red and laser-engraved with the word Trump. "Liberal paper straws don't work. Stand with President Trump and buy your recyclable straws today," the listing said.
Trump has signed several executive orders with climate and environmental impacts since taking office. He ordered the United States to again withdraw from the landmark Paris climate agreement aimed at global cooperation on climate change and declared a “national energy emergency" both urging oil and gas expansion and ordering that the Endangered Species Act, which has been a hurdle for the development of fossil fuels in the U.S., cannot be an obstacle to energy development. Trump is also seeking to open up areas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling, citing a familiar slogan: "Drill, baby, drill." Trump also revoked an order signed by Biden several years ago aiming to have electric vehicles make up 50% of new cars sold by 2030, pulled all unspent government funds for electric-vehicle charging stations and called for an end to waivers that would have allowed states to ban internal-combustion cars by 2035.
Plastic straws are construed as one of the largest contributors to plastic waste in oceans and coastal zones in the world. Most plastic straws can't be recycled because the material they're made of has no other practical use, and they're non-biodegradable, meaning they can't be broken down by bacteria or other natural decomposers. Straws are particularly prone to ending up in waterways due to beach littering and winds that blow the lightweight items from trash cans, boats and other places into water, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, where aquatic life is in danger of ingesting it. And because they never fully decompose, straws tend to break into ever-smaller particles that release chemicals into the soil, air and water that can harm animals, plants and the environment. As many as 70% of seabirds and 30% of turtles are estimated to have ingested some type of plastic from the ocean in their lifetime.
8.3 billion. That's how many plastic straws were estimated to be contaminating beaches around the world as of 2023. The European Union banned plastic straws in 2021 and some U.S. cities, like Seattle and Miami Beach, have done the same.