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Evaluation and future development direction of paper straw and plastic straw
Summary
This review evaluates the environmental trade-offs of replacing plastic straws with paper straws, examining lifecycle impacts, material properties, and waste management outcomes. The authors find that while paper straws reduce persistent plastic pollution, their production and disposal also carry environmental costs, and that neither option is entirely without impact.
Abstract In recent years, plastic pollution has become one of the environmental issues of concern. This article explores the hazards of plastic straws and analyzes whether the decision to replace plastic straws with paper straws in the context of plastic restriction is entirely environmentally friendly. The results show that plastic films used in agricultural production remain in the soil after weathering and degradation, affecting soil structure, water and nutrient transfer processes, secondary salinization, and hindering plant growth. Microplastics in terrestrial and marine ecosystems are taken up by and accumulate in organisms and enter the human food web, affecting the human central nervous system and reproductive system. This article concludes that paper straws contain harmful additives, are challenging to recycle and degrade, are costly to build, are not environmentally friendly, and have a low promotional rate by studying their life cycle, content, recycling rate, degradation rate, usage problems, and applying. The paper also introduces the advantages of some new green straws, such as bamboo straws, wheat straws, PLA straws, and stainless-steel straws, which are environmentally friendly, durable, biodegradable, recyclable, and reusable. This essay aims to find better alternatives to address the potential environmental problems associated with plastic straws and mitigate the environmental hazards associated with the use of plastic products.