South Korea’s government will review the life cycle of paper straws over disputes on their eco-friendliness, as other countries begin steering away from their use.
Advertisement
Its outcome is likely to determine whether the government will continue promoting paper straws.
The review follows other governments and companies worldwide announcing their plans to go back to using plastic straws instead of paper straws, a turnaround from the trend that once favoured paper straws for their purported eco-friendliness, over which researchers have not reached a consensus.
The Ministry of Environment said on Thursday it would conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA) on paper and plastic straws. It will examine how much environmental impact they carry throughout different stages of their life cycle, such as production, consumption and disposal. It is expected to be completed in April.
The LCA comes after the government in 2021 revised the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources, announcing it would ban the use of plastic straws the following year.
Advertisement
Then in 2022, the ban was delayed to the year after. In 2023, the ban’s enforcement was postponed indefinitely, effectively allowing the use of plastic straws again for the time being.