Paper straws have been found to impose a greater environmental burden than conventional plastic straws.

According to the "Comprehensive Survey Report on Disposable Straws" submitted by the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment to Representative Kim Wi-sang of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee, the carcinogenic impact on the human body of paper straws was 6.33 times higher than that of regular plastic straws.

Researchers conducted a comparative analysis of the environmental impacts of conventional plastics such as polypropylene (PP), paper, biodegradable plastics, and non-biodegradable bio-PE from May of last year to April of this year.

The researchers evaluated 16 categories, including greenhouse gas emissions, ozone depletion, ecotoxicity, human carcinogenicity, and particulate matter impacts, across the entire lifecycle from raw material production to disposal.

The analysis showed that conventional plastic straws had the highest environmental impact in only one category—fossil resource depletion—while exhibiting the lowest environmental impact in 10 other categories, including climate change, particulate matter impact, and human carcinogenicity.

On the other hand, bio-PE straws, which are made from plant-based materials but do not naturally decompose, had the greatest environmental impact in 10 categories, including ozone depletion and climate change.

Paper straws had the greatest impact in 3 categories, including mineral resource depletion, while biodegradable plastic straws had the largest impact in 2 categories, including ecotoxicity.

Compared to conventional plastics, the human carcinogenic impact was 6.33 times higher for paper straws, 16.18 times higher for bio-PE, and 3.34 times higher for biodegradable plastics.

The impact of particulate matter was also found to be 1.62 times higher for paper straws, 12.02 times higher for bio-PE, and 1.97 times higher for biodegradable plastics.

It was also confirmed that straws are practically difficult to recycle regardless of the material.

As a result of investigating recycling sorting facilities, researchers found that straws are small in size, making it difficult for machines or workers to sort them, so they were being classified as non-recyclable waste and incinerated.

Representative Kim said, "It is time to stop meaningless regulations that merely change materials and transition to practical reduction policies that fundamentally cut down on the use of disposable items itself."

Reported by Park Se-won | Video by Kim Min-ji | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News