‘Plastic won’t affect a shark’: Trump signs order against paper straws, saying they ‘explode’
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Environmentalists have long campaigned for an end to the use of plastic straws and other utensils, saying they pollute marine environments in particular.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Feb 10 pushing for a return to plastic drinking straws, saying their impact on marine life was limited and that paper ones favoured by environmentalists “explode”.
The Republican’s order reverses a target set by his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden to eliminate single-use plastic utensils like straws across US government agencies by 2035.
“We’re going back to plastic straws,” Mr Trump said as he signed the order in the Oval Office.
He said of paper straws: “These things don’t work, I’ve had them many times, and on occasion, they break, they explode. If something’s hot, they don’t last very long, like a matter of minutes, sometimes a matter of seconds. It’s a ridiculous situation.”
Environmentalists have long campaigned for an end to the use of plastic straws and other utensils, saying they pollute marine environments in particular.
But Mr Trump – who has long appeared vexed by paper straws – rejected their concerns. “I don’t think that plastic is going to affect a shark as they’re eating, as they’re munching their way through the ocean.”
Presenting the document for Mr Trump to sign, White House staff secretary Will Scharf said the environmental impact was “entirely debatable” and that American consumers were “wildly dissatisfied with their straws”.
Mr Trump, who has called climate change a “scam”, has issued a series of orders on the environment since returning to the White House for a second term.
He pulled out of the Paris climate change agreement
