What does science say about straws?

Straws come in many different forms, and restaurants around the world have been replacing plastic straws with paper ones in an effort to combat plastic pollution. Let’s have a look at some of the published science on these materials!

According to a 2021 study, plastic straws are among the top ten items found during beach clean ups (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378021001394?via%3Dihub), and wild animals have been shown to ingest them (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X11003997; https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh0945). Moreover, plastic food contact articles have been shown to release potentially harmful chemicals, as well as microplastics, into food and beverages (FCCmigex: https://foodpackagingforum.org/resources/databases/fccmigex and FCMiNo: https://foodpackagingforum.org/resources/databases/mino). 

So, what about paper straws? A study from 2024 found a suspected carcinogen and two recognized endocrine disrupting chemicals to migrate from them into soda drinks (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214289424000024). The authors concluded that paper straws may not be the safest alternative to plastic straws in terms of food safety. Similarly, straws labeled as “plant-based” and “biodegradable” were shown to contain PFAS in 2021 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653521007074).

In a study from 2023, researchers found PFAS in various types of straws, including ones made from paper, bamboo, glass, and plastic. The only exceptions were those made of stainless steel (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19440049.2023.2240908). 

All of this research also begs the question: does everyone always need a straw? Maybe their use is not always essential.