A recent government-commissioned study in South Korea has found that paper straws may be worse for the environment than plastic ones, which has in turn led to criticism of the country’s push to replace plastic, efforts that began in 2022.
The research, commissioned by South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment and disclosed by lawmaker Kim Wi-sang, looked at paper straws, standard plastic straws, biodegradable plastic straws, and straws made from sugarcane-based plastic and measured their effect on the environment in 16 categories over their full life cycle.
Standard plastic straws had the smallest impact in 10 of the categories, including climate change, human toxicity, and particulate matter.
Paper straws, meanwhile, produced more than six times the carcinogenic impact of plastic straws across their life cycle (a measure of environmental emissions rather than a direct consumer health risk) and twice the impact on acidification, a measure of how much soil and ocean pH levels change.
The study also found that paper straws (and all straw types) are rarely recycled in practice. Because they’re small, recycling machines often fail to sort them. Then there’s the fact that the coatings and glues used to make the straws water-resistant also end up making them harder to process, which all requires more energy.
Rep. Kim Wi-sang criticized both environmental groups and the government after the results came out. “The government must acknowledge the failure of its greenwashing policy, which fixated on ineffective substitute materials,” Kim said in a statement.
Public sentiment reflects this. As part of the study released this month, a survey of 1,001 South Koreans found that 87.5% prefer plastic straws.
For consumers caught in the middle, reusable straws made of stainless steel or silicone are one alternative for people who want to avoid both paper and plastic.
Sources: The Korea Herald, The Korea Economic Daily, NYP