It is laborious to think about anybody listening to Donald Trump saying his new coverage on straws with a higher sense of glee than Ross Boyajian, the president of a enterprise manufacturing plastic straws in Glendale, California.
Mr Boyajian, an Armenian-American, has owned Diamond Straws since 1995. His manufacturing facility produces greater than 800 straws a minute, supplying giant US cafes and eating places, together with Peet’s Espresso and BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse.
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Ross Boyajian, the president of plastic straw firm Diamond Straws
Diamond Straws at the moment employs 15 folks however is anticipating an uptick in enterprise within the wake of President Trump’s govt order declaring that the US is “going back to plastic straws” and shifting away from paper straws.
“It was one of our happiest days when I heard him say that,” says Mr Boyajian. “Our whole business completely switched. Previously everybody was worrying about ‘what are you doing in this business, you’re going to be out of business because nobody is buying plastic straws’. So thank you, Trump.”
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The manufacturing of plastic straws on the Glendale manufacturing facility
Cardboard containers emblazoned with “made in USA” are stacked across the manufacturing facility. It is only one of a handful of factories remaining within the US manufacturing plastic straws after a lot of the trade moved overseas to China.
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Bins inscribed with the phrases Made in USA in Ross Boyajian’s manufacturing facility
Mr Trump has repeatedly railed in opposition to paper straws. His 2019 reelection marketing campaign bought Trump-branded reusable plastic straws. His govt order will reverse a Biden administration coverage to part out authorities purchases of plastic straws, in addition to plastic cutlery and packaging by 2027.
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President Trump signing an govt order declaring that the US is ‘going again to plastic straws’
Environmentalists have lengthy been involved about using plastic straws, though they are saying the difficulty is far greater than straws alone.
Dianna Cohen is a co-founder of Plastic Air pollution Coalition, whose work includes educating folks on the impact of plastic on the atmosphere and the human physique.
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Plastic collected from the ocean in Los Angeles
“It’s not the item, it’s single-use plastics,” she says. “We need to really pay attention to reducing and moving away from using that material. Using plastic to eat and drink all of our foods is bad for our health and the health of our children.
“Plastic is polluting all of us and our our bodies,” she provides.
“It’s been linked to a number of different health issues, including fertility issues. Microplastics have been found in our brains and in testicles and placenta.”
