Trump Signs Executive Order to Get 'Back to Plastic'

UPDATE Feb 11, 2025 2:00 AM CST

President Trump made good on his paper straw promise, signing an executive order Monday targeting them. The order reverses federal purchasing policies that restricted the purchasing of plastic straws and other single-use plastics by the federal government, the AP reports. Trump's order directs federal agencies to stop purchasing paper straws and "ensure that paper straws are no longer provided within agency buildings." As for arguments that plastic straws are polluting waterways and hurting marine life, the president said Monday, "I don't think that plastic is going to affect the shark very much as they're eating, as they're munching their way through the ocean." The plastics industry lauded the move: "Straws are just the beginning," said the president and CEO of the Plastics Industry Association. "'Back to Plastic' is a movement we should all get behind."

Feb 7, 2025 2:37 PM CST

President Trump is going after paper straws in one of his next initiatives:

• "I will be signing an Executive Order next week ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don't work," Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. "BACK TO PLASTIC!"
• The reference is to an initiative former President Biden signed last year to phase out single-use plastics such as straws, cutlery, and cups throughout the federal government, reports the Washington Post. It was not clear if Trump's executive order would focus only on straws.

• The issue may sound small-scale on the surface, but Politico sees the debate over straws as "a microcosm of a larger debate over whether the federal government should mitigate greenhouse gas emissions." Most plastic is derived from fossil fuels.
• USA Today similarly sees the straw issue as a proxy fight "against Democrat-backed environmental regulations." Working in Republicans' favor is that paper straws "tend to quickly dissolve and can be unpopular with consumers of beverages," the story adds.
• The issue goes back awhile: Newsweek notes that Trump sold Trump-branded plastic straws during his 2020 campaign. "Liberal paper straws don't work," his site declared at the time. "Stand with President Trump and buy your recyclable straws today."

(More President Trump stories.)