ISLAMABAD: Paper straws, widely introduced as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional plastic, have come under scrutiny after a South Korean government-commissioned study found that their modelled life-cycle carcinogenic impact was 6.33 times higher than that of ordinary plastic straws.
Paper straws have six times higher cancer-related impact than plastic https://t.co/hQbmG6ldP3 via @DailyMail
— Mary Jane Anderson (@MaryJan28337231) October 27, 2026
The findings challenge the assumption that replacing plastic with paper automatically benefits the environment. They also raise questions for countries such as Pakistan, where plastic pollution, weak waste-management systems and limited recycling capacity remain major environmental concerns.
However, researchers stressed that the carcinogenic-impact figure represents a modelled assessment of potential effects across manufacturing, use and disposal. It does not mean that people drinking through paper straws face 6.33 times greater cancer risk.
JUST IN: South Korean government study reveals paper straws may cause greater environmental harm than conventional plastic straws. https://t.co/CKtYYeCw4a
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) October 26, 2026
Paper straws score higher in environmental assessment
The study, commissioned by South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and disclosed by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Wi-sang, compared four types of drinking straws: conventional plastic, paper, biodegradable plastic and bio-based polyethylene (bio-PE).
Researchers assessed their environmental impacts across 16 categories, examining the entire life cycle from raw-material production to final disposal.
The findings showed:
- Paper straws:33 times the modelled carcinogenic impact and 2.04 times the acidification impact of conventional plastic straws.
- Bio-based polyethylene:18 times the carcinogenic impact and 5.9 times the acidification impact.
- Biodegradable plastic:34 times the carcinogenic impact and 1.98 times the acidification impact.
Conventional plastic straws recorded the lowest impact in 10 of the 16 categories assessed, including climate change, acidification, particulate matter and human toxicity.
Bio-PE straws recorded the highest impact in 10 categories, including ozone depletion, acidification and smog. Paper straws had the highest impact in three categories, while biodegradable plastic straws recorded the highest impact in two.
The assessment assumed that 73.6 per cent of discarded straws were incinerated and 26.4 per cent sent to landfill, based on South Korean national waste statistics.
Why replacing plastic may not be enough
Researchers found that disposable straws made from all four materials face recycling challenges. Their small size makes them difficult for sorting facilities to separate, while coatings and adhesives can further complicate recycling.
Bio-PE, despite being manufactured from renewable plant-based sources such as sugarcane, is chemically identical to conventional polyethylene and does not biodegrade. It should not be confused with biodegradable plastic.
The study also examined public attitudes towards disposable straws through a survey of 1,001 people.
Some 87.5 per cent of respondents said they preferred plastic straws, while 54.4 per cent supported providing straws only when customers requested them. Around 18.4 per cent opposed that approach.
Researchers recommended that restaurants and cafes stop providing disposable straws automatically and offer them only when customers ask.
trump on paper straws: “has anybody ever tried those paper straws? they’re not working too good. it disintegrates as you’re drinking.” now a south korean government study says paper straws are 6.33 times worse than plastic on carcinogenic impact. he was right again https://t.co/tpWNTTHMSr
— Tyler Dean (@TylerDeanPro) October 28, 2026
Pakistan faces a much bigger plastic-waste challenge
The findings have particular relevance for Pakistan, where the environmental challenge extends far beyond drinking straws to plastic bags, packaging, bottles and other single-use products.
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination informed Pakistan’s National Assembly in October 2025 that the country generates approximately 3.9 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with only 4 to 9 per cent recycled. Much of the waste ends up in dumping sites, landfills, waterways and sewerage drains.
Read Also: Pakistan’s 2 Million Ton Plastic Waste Makes Up Just 0.5% of Global Total
The United Nations Development Programme’s National Plastic Action Partnership Roadmap, launched with the Government of Pakistan and the World Economic Forum in April 2025, also highlighted the scale of the problem. It said plastic use in Pakistan was increasing by around 15 per cent annually, largely driven by single-use products, while plastic accounted for nearly 40 per cent of solid waste in the Indus River.
Pakistan introduced the Single-Use Plastics (Prohibition) Regulations 2023 in Islamabad, but enforcement, waste segregation and the availability of practical alternatives remain important challenges.
Unlike South Korea’s study, which compared the life-cycle impacts of four specific straw materials, Pakistan’s available national figures describe the wider plastic-waste problem. They cannot establish which type of drinking straw would have the lowest environmental impact under Pakistani production and disposal conditions.
Climate expert warns against treating plastic as a minor problem
Environmental expert Dr Ejaz Ahmed, a former senior official of WWF-Pakistan and currently associated with the Institute of Urbanism, has previously warned that plastic pollution threatens Pakistan’s ecosystems and climate efforts.
He highlighted how plastic waste endangers aquatic life, blocks drainage systems and spreads through everyday household products and food packaging.
He has also advocated recycling initiatives and scientific approaches to turning plastic waste into useful resources, including its potential use in construction materials and co-processing fuel in cement production.
Read Also: Plastic Pollution a ‘Grave and Growing’ Global Health Threat: Report
His remarks concerned plastic pollution in general rather than the specific South Korean paper-straw findings. Nevertheless, they underline why Pakistan needs stronger waste-management systems and policies that address pollution from production to disposal.
Physician highlights potential health concerns
Dr Muhammad Younis, an Islamabad-based dermatologist, has also raised concerns about the health implications of widespread plastic use.
He warned that heating plastic could release toxic chemicals, potentially contributing to health problems, and called for a transition towards safer alternatives and more sustainable practices.
Read Also: Plastic Production and Waste Drive Rising Global Health Risks
His observations relate to plastic exposure generally and should not be interpreted as evidence that paper straws cause cancer or that the South Korean study established a direct health risk to consumers.
Medical researchers in Pakistan have separately highlighted the growing presence of microplastics in air, water and soil. A 2025 letter published in the Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association by researchers affiliated with medical institutions in Lahore, Karachi and Abbottabad called for greater attention to the possible long-term health implications of microplastic contamination.
Reducing disposable consumption remains the priority
South Korea’s experience also illustrates the difficulties governments face when environmental restrictions focus on replacing one disposable material with another without addressing consumption itself.
The country introduced restrictions on plastic straws in cafes and restaurants in November 2022 but indefinitely extended the enforcement grace period in November 2023 following public complaints and questions about the effectiveness of the policy.
Hot take on the paper straw study everyone’s sharing today: it’s being read wrong.
South Korea’s environment ministry had 4 straw types run through a life cycle assessment, 16 impact categories, from making them to burning or burying them. Paper scored 6.33x plastic on modeled carcinogenic impact. That’s factory and disposal emissions. It doesn’t mean sipping through a paper straw gives you 6x the cancer risk.
The part nobody’s quoting: the “plant-based” bio-PE straws were worst, at 16x. And the researchers’ own conclusion was to use fewer disposables, not just swap materials.
Best straw is still a steel one you already own. Or no straw.
— WhatisMicroplastics (@NonToxicSwaps) October 30, 2026
Lawmaker Kim Wi-sang criticised the government’s approach, arguing that environmental policy should prioritise reducing disposable products rather than relying on substitute materials that may carry their own environmental costs.
For Pakistan, the broader lesson is that paper, biodegradable and plant-based alternatives should not automatically be labelled environmentally harmless. Their benefits depend on how they are manufactured, transported, used and disposed of.
Reducing unnecessary single-use products, improving waste segregation, strengthening recycling systems and encouraging reusable alternatives could offer a more effective response than simply switching from one disposable straw to another.
