According to a new study published in the journal Food Additives & Contaminants, paper straws may actually be worse than plastic straws because they contain more “forever chemicals.”
This may change the entire debate around the eco-friendliness of paper straws.
“Straws made from plant-based materials, such as paper and bamboo, are often advertised as being more sustainable and eco-friendly than those made from plastic,” Thimo Groffen, Ph.D., study author and an environmental scientist at the University of Antwerp, said in a statement. “However, the presence of PFAS [poly- and perfluoroalkyl-based substances known as “forever chemicals” because they last for a long time before breaking down] in these straws means that’s not necessarily true.”
From The New York Post:
The new research comes following multiple initiatives enforced by numerous US cities, including New York, and restaurant chains to ban disposable plastic suckers comprised of polypropylene and polystyrene, which take hundreds of years to decompose and are linked to health problems from liver problems to birth defects.
“Their time has come and gone. I believe we should get rid of plastic straws,” NYC Mayor de Blasio said in 2018 after the City Council introduced a proposal to prohibit restaurants and bars from distributing plastic sippers.
Another de Blasio blunder to add throw on the pile.
More over at The New York Post:
Paper straws contain toxic ‘forever chemicals’ — could be worse than plastic: study https://t.co/4xM389RfSn pic.twitter.com/u22eMtsJMp
— New York Post (@nypost) August 25, 2023
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