Paper Straws and the Hidden Costs of Environmental Bans

There is a progressive impulse — indeed, one shared by many who are not formal progressives — to bring all forces into proper balance and thereby achieve perfection. It rests on the assumption, unstated but always present, that the laws of nature allow for utopia if we only have the will and the mind to attain it. That everything can be made just right.

This vision brings with it a punctilious attitude of constant reform. In the words of New York’s mayor, “There is no problem too large for government to solve and no concern too small for it to care about.” Nothing too small — not even the little plastic straws in people’s soda cups and coffee drinks that end up littering beaches. Sure, they account for 0.025 percent of all plastic waste that gets into the oceans (that’s one-fortieth of one percentage point). But getting rid of plastic straws is so simple — it’s worth any benefit that it might yield. Many countries and cities around the world have therefore restricted or outright prohibited plastic straws, replacing them with paper and cardboard straws that everyone can, well, somewhat tolerate. Other than inconvenience, it’s all upside.

About the Author

John R. Puri

John R. Puri is the Thomas L. Rhodes Fellow at National Review.

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There is a progressive impulse — indeed, one shared by many who are not formal progressives — to bring all forces into proper balance and thereby achieve perfection. It rests on the assumption, unstated but always present, that the laws of nature allow for utopia if we only have the will and the mind to attain it. That everything can be made just right.

This vision brings with it a punctilious attitude of constant reform. In the words of New York’s mayor, “There is no problem too large for government to solve and no concern too small for it to care about.” Nothing too small — not even the little plastic straws in people’s soda cups and coffee drinks that end up littering beaches. Sure, they account for 0.025 percent of all plastic waste that gets into the oceans (that’s one-fortieth of one percentage point). But getting rid of plastic straws is so simple — it’s worth any benefit that it might yield. Many countries and cities around the world have therefore restricted or outright prohibited plastic straws, replacing them with paper and cardboard straws that everyone can, well, somewhat tolerate. Other than inconvenience, it’s all upside.