8 out of 10 Cafes Use Plastic Straws
Increase in Citizens Voluntarily Joining 'Single-Use Plastic Regulation'
About a month after the government relaxed regulations on disposable products, paper straws have seemingly disappeared from most cafes.
On the 7th of last month, the Ministry of Environment announced the withdrawal of the ban on paper cup usage in restaurants and cafes and indefinitely extended the guidance period for the ban on plastic straw usage. As a result, companies that had pinned their hopes on producing paper straws, trusting the government's eco-friendly policy, now face the risk of bankruptcy. After the government’s announcement, sales channels were blocked, turning tens of millions of paper straws into inventory stock.
On the 7th of last month, the Ministry of Environment announced the withdrawal of the ban on paper cup usage in restaurants and cafes, and the indefinite extension of the guidance period for the ban on plastic straw usage. As a result, companies that had pinned their hopes on producing paper straws, trusting the government's eco-friendly policies, were struck by a bolt from the blue. After the government’s announcement, sales channels were blocked, turning tens of millions of paper straws into unsellable inventory. [Photo by Yonhap News]
The Ministry of Environment held two meetings with paper straw companies on the 20th and 24th of last month. However, aside from low-interest loans, they failed to present support measures such as compensation for damages, market development, or inventory disposal that the companies requested.
The Ministry only has a policy to encourage voluntary participation so that paper straws can be used instead of plastic straws in the market, and has not scheduled any additional meetings with the industry.
Large Franchise Cafes Still Use 'Paper Straws'
Starbucks Coffee Korea has been consistently using paper straws since introducing paper straws and strawless lids (cup lids) to stores nationwide around November 2018. [Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@]
The main reason why most cafes use plastic straws instead of paper straws is undoubtedly 'cost.' Paper straws are 10,000 to 20,000 KRW more expensive than plastic straws. With rising prices, self-employed business owners are also striving to reduce costs, and with the regulations lifted, there is no reason to continue using paper straws.
The places that consistently use paper straws are large franchise cafes such as Starbucks, Paul Bassett, and Twosome Place.
A Starbucks representative said, "Since 2018, we have banned the use of plastic cups in stores and introduced paper straws. We will continue to establish a culture of not using disposable products with a long-term plan. Customers also have a high favorability toward eco-friendly policies, so we plan to bear the cost of paper straws."
While small cafes and self-employed business owners welcome the relaxation of disposable product regulations from a cost-saving perspective, many citizens respond that they will voluntarily continue to participate in 'disposable product regulations.'
In particular, although there was significant resistance to using paper straws, a culture of replacing plastic cups and paper cups with reusable containers or tumblers in stores has been well established.
This response is even more prominent among younger generations who are sensitive to environmental policies, having personally experienced rapidly changing weather and climate change recently.
Experts agree that although the government’s disposable product policy has retreated due to the worsening management difficulties of self-employed business owners, ultimately, it will inevitably move toward strengthening regulations again.
Professor Jang Yong-cheol of the Department of Environmental Engineering at Chungnam National University said, "The government strengthened disposable product regulations after 2018 but recently relaxed them citing economic recession, losing policy credibility. Korea’s disposable product regulations are relatively weak compared to major European advanced countries, so continuous strengthening of regulations is necessary in the future."
Paper Straw Companies Launch 'Joint Sales' Amid Bankruptcy Crisis
Paper straw companies facing bankruptcy due to the government’s decision to postpone plastic straw crackdowns have opened a 'joint sales' website and started selling their inventory.
After the government failed to present practical support measures despite two meetings, they took the initiative to secure sales channels themselves. They said, "We are not giving up our business voluntarily but are being forced to by the Ministry of Environment. Our primary goal is to prevent immediate bankruptcy and to confirm the quality and safety of domestically produced paper straws to consumers."
On the 11th, five paper straw companies including Nuridaon announced that they have launched a joint sales website to resolve their financial crisis. On this site, the five companies sell domestically produced paper straws at the same price without distinguishing brands. If paper straw companies facing survival challenges wish to participate in joint sales, the number of participating companies will be increased and sales will be conducted under the same conditions. [Photo by Asia Economy DB]
On the 11th, five paper straw companies including Nuridaon announced that they opened a joint sales website to resolve their financial crisis. On this site, the five companies sell domestically produced paper straws at the same price regardless of brand. If other paper straw companies facing survival crises wish to join, they plan to increase participating companies and sell under the same conditions.
The joint sales companies said, "Since the Ministry of Environment’s announcement on the 7th of last month to indefinitely extend the guidance period for the plastic straw ban, the domestic paper straw market has collapsed. We want to sell products to small business owners and consumers who want to practice eco-friendliness with paper straws to solve urgent financial problems."
They added, "The government plans to provide low-interest loans in April next year to solve the financial problems of paper straw companies. However, loans will mature starting November, and companies that have exhausted personal credit loans during the grace period have no solution at all."
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