You’re thirsty. You order something to drink. You unwrap your straw. It’s made of paper. And soon, it tastes like paper. A few sips in, the straw turns soggy.

Have you ever been annoyed by this experience? Apparently, so has President Donald Trump. He says paper straws just don’t work. This week, he signed a new executive order. It bans the use of paper straws by the federal government.

“It’s a ridiculous situation. We’re going back to plastic straws,” says President Trump.

White House staff secretary Will Scharf likes the idea. He says paper straws have cost the government “an absolute ton of money.” He believes they leave thirsty consumers unhappy.

Former President Joe Biden planned to end U.S. government purchases of single-use plastics by 2035. President Trump’s latest order reverses that course.

Leaders in the plastic industry applaud the move. They call it part of the “back to plastic” movement. But many researchers and officials don’t approve. They say “back to plastic” is a big mistake. 

So what’s the problem with plastic?

Single-use plastics are exactly what they sound like. You use them once and then [RC1] throw them away. (Unless you keep a used plastic straw collection. Weird, but okay!) People in the United States use over 390 million straws every day. They use most of those straws for 30 minutes or less. But each plastic straw takes about 200 years to decompose.

Where does it spend those long years? Much of it goes into the ocean. Worldwide, about a garbage-truck-full of plastic enters the ocean every minute. This junk breaks down into microplastics. These particles end up in the bellies of fish and birds. They even show up in humans. Some scientists think these tiny bits may be harmful.

Many governments have tried to steer away from single-use plastics. Several U.S. states and cities banned plastic straws altogether.

But plastic straws are one tiny sip in a much bigger problem. Plastic waste comes from all sorts of sources. Shopping bags, bottles, coffee lids, and takeout containers all add to the mess. Most people don’t even need to use straws at all. (Although for some with mobility issues, straws are important!) 

God wants people to care for His creation. Leaders often disagree on the best ways to do that. Plastic straws don’t help the pollution problem. But banning only straws won’t solve it. Will embracing plastic straws mean disaster? That’s not likely, either.

 [RC1]Note that “then” is an adverb, not a conjunction, so a conjunction is needed between the two predicate phrases.