According to The Korea Herald's account of a South Korean government-commissioned assessment, paper straws received a human-carcinogenicity impact score 6.33 times the polypropylene score, a comparison of modeled life-cycle burdens. The model covers impacts from raw-material production through disposal and does not estimate cancer outcomes among people who use the straws.
The Korea Herald reported that South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment commissioned the study, titled Comprehensive Survey on Disposable Straws. The Korean Society for Life Cycle Assessment conducted it from May 2025 to April 2026, comparing four straw materials across 16 impact categories.
On the same carcinogenicity measure, biodegradable plastic received a score 3.34 times the polypropylene score. Paper’s acidification score was 2.04 times the conventional plastic score, while biodegradable plastic’s was 1.98 times the conventional plastic score. The Herald identified the fourth material as bio-based polyethylene and reported its carcinogenicity score at 16.18 times the polypropylene score and its acidification score at 5.90 times the conventional plastic score.
Conventional plastic had the lowest impact in 10 of the 16 categories. The Herald reported that bio-based polyethylene had the highest impact in 10 categories, while paper led in three and biodegradable plastic in two.
For disposal, the assessment modeled 73.6% of straws being incinerated and 26.4% going to landfill, using national waste statistics, The Korea Herald reported. Researchers said straws’ small size makes them difficult for sorting facilities to separate, while coatings and adhesives can add recycling barriers.
Researchers recommended that stores stop offering disposable straws by default and provide them when customers request one. Newspim reported that a survey of 1,001 people found 54.4% supported the approach and 18.4% opposed it.
