Trump is getting rid of paper straws. That’s (partly) a good thing, environmentalists say

Half a billion straws are used in the United States every day, according to a popular — but perhaps not the most scientific — estimate.

The biggest buyer: the federal government, which buys more straws than any other group in the US. Straws are used in national parks, federal buildings and embassies, among other places.

This week, President Donald Trump reversed course on a Biden administration environmental initiative that had eliminated single-use plastics like straws in federal buildings. The common alternative: paper straws.

“We’re going back to plastic straws. (Paper straws) don’t work. They break. They explode If something’s hot. They don’t last very long, like a matter of minutes, sometimes a matter of seconds. It’s a ridiculous situation,” Trump said from the Oval Office on Monday, when he signed an executive order on the matter.

The executive order directs federal agencies to make sure that “paper straws are no longer provided” in agency buildings.