Straws made from paper and biodegradable plastic, long promoted as eco-friendly alternatives, may place a greater burden on the environment than conventional plastic, according to a new government study.
The Paradox of Eco-Friendly Straws: Up to 16 Times the Impact
The report, titled "Comprehensive Survey on Single-Use Straws," was submitted by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment to the office of Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee, and released on the 22nd. Researchers compared the environmental impact of four materials from May last year through April this year: conventional plastic made of polypropylene (PP), paper, biodegradable plastic and bio-based polyethylene (bio-PE).
The assessment covered 16 categories spanning the entire life cycle from raw material production to disposal, including greenhouse gas emissions, ozone depletion, acidification, human carcinogenic effects and particulate matter. Conventional plastic straws recorded the lowest environmental impact in 10 of those categories, including climate change, acidification, particulate matter and human toxicity. The finding runs counter to the widespread assumption that eco-friendly alternatives are less harmful than conventional plastic.
In some categories, the environmental burden of alternative straws was substantially higher. For ozone depletion, paper straws scored 2.23 times higher than conventional plastic, bio-PE 3.96 times and biodegradable plastic 2.42 times. For acidification, the figures were 2.04 times, 5.90 times and 1.98 times, respectively.
The gap widened further for human carcinogenic effects. Paper straws measured 6.33 times the level of conventional plastic, bio-PE 16.18 times and biodegradable plastic 3.34 times. For particulate matter, paper straws came in at 1.62 times, bio-PE at 12.02 times and biodegradable plastic at 1.97 times.
Recycling Falls Short, and Cutting Use Is the Alternative
Recycling performance also fell short of expectations. In a survey of sorting facilities, researchers found that straws were too small for machines and workers to separate, and were treated as non-recyclable waste and incinerated. Products using coatings or adhesives proved even harder to recycle. Even straws made from recyclable materials were often incinerated along with conventional plastic ones because no separate sorting system exists.
The researchers concluded that a policy banning only conventional plastic straws while allowing other single-use straws made of paper or biodegradable materials is not appropriate. They instead proposed that stores stop stocking single-use straws of any kind by default and provide them only when customers ask.
Critics also called for a review of environmental policies focused on switching materials. "The government should now honestly acknowledge the failure of its greenwashing policies, which have clung to the introduction of ineffective alternatives, and stop repeating them," Kim said. "It is time to halt meaningless regulations that only change materials and shift to substantive reduction policies that fundamentally cut the use of disposable products themselves."