Mar. 7, 2025 By Alexandra Evans

LOS ANGELES — Nadia Skelil splits her time between her three jobs — she is a regional purchasing manager for Stiiizy, bottle girl and personal trainer.

She keeps busy at 27, lives in LA and considers herself a representative of the “Gemini community,” a reference to her astrological sign. Her birthday is June 16.

Skelil said, “President Trump is not a good representation of the Gemini community, and we do not claim him.” The president’s birthday is June 14. President Trump recently signed Executive Order 14208, “Ending Procurement and Forced Use of Paper Straws,” which bans the federal government use of paper straws.

By extension, Trump’s order hopes to “bring back common sense” after “woke activists” banned plastic straws in some American cities and states. The order cites a study that found forever chemicals, or PFAS, in paper straws, which can be harmful to humans.

Roughly 390 million plastic straws are used every day in the United States. Associated Press reported that each of those straws will take around 200 years to decompose.

The obvious question: will the federal order now affect Americans in their everyday lives?

As the Free Press reported, California banned plastic straws from restaurants in 2018. A customer could ask for one.

New York changed its law in 2021 so the only straws on display could be paper – you could ask for plastic.

Anniya Louis, 30, of Los Angeles is a master’s student at Southern Cal, she complained about paper straws because she must use multiple straws to finish a single drink. Louis proposed the use of bamboo straws because they are stronger.

She said, “As far as Trump goes, I don’t know what he’s doing.” Still, she said she agrees with Trump’s order: “It is time for a change with the paper straws.”

John Andersson, 42, of Sweden, is visiting the United States as a tourist. At home he is a project manager. Asked which kind of straw he prefers, paper or plastic, he said, “I’m fine with either.”

He did agree with many others on the environmental issues linked to the straw debate. He said, “I haven’t thought about it that much,” but he still believes paper straws are “good for the environment.”

Amber Reyes, 21, of Los Angeles, works at a downtown Shake Shack.

The restaurant gives out plastic straws and Reyes has never heard a customer ask for a paper straw. As for her personal preferences, Reyes said, “I do my best to limit the amount of waste I make,” so she is OK with paper straws.

Robert Pimentel, 26, of Los Angeles, said soggy paper straws do “happen from time to time,” but added, “you can always just get another paper straw.” An EMT said there are bigger things going on in the world than which straw he is using.

Similarly, two firefighters, Trevor Tuthill, 29, of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Matt Mitchell, 29, of Redondo Beach, California, see life as more than a straw choice. Tuthill fought the Malibu fires just a couple weeks back. When he imagines his perfect day, drinking a smoothie, he sees himself using a bamboo straw.

Tuthill ranked his favorite straws, saying bamboo and plastic were tied for first, and paper is a close second, but “I’ll take two or three, because I know when it gets soggy, it won’t work anymore.”

Mitchell generally agreed with his buddy’s perspective. He added, “Some people say that plastic straws are killing the turtles.” Although he cares about this issue and the climate, he doesn’t see plastic straws as a massive harm.

Rachel Neuberg, 30, of Phoenix Arizona sat outside sunbathing at Groundwork Coffee Co. with her iced latte, she works in marketing. When asked about the straw debate, she was the only person to prefer no straw.

Neuberg would prefer the government stay away from her straws. There is one exception, she said, “Unless they're creating environmental policies that's going to help the future of the earth.”

Skelil, our Gemini representative, and her friend, Majerle Brewer, 28, who also lives in LA, had the strongest opinions. Skelil said, “I love the concept of a paper straw, but it deteriorates so fast.” She added, “There’s got to be a better concept. We’re in 2025.”

Brewer pushed hard for bamboo straws. She doesn’t like paper straws because, she said, “You do not get the fizziness of the drink that you're drinking, it takes away the bubbles.”

The two agreed firmly on one thing: their distaste for Donald Trump. Skelil began, “Anything that Trump does, I’m against, so bring the paper straws back.” Brewer said, “You see where his head is at when it comes to the things he’s prioritizing.”

At the table next to Skelil and Brewer at Loqui, a Mexican Restaurant in the Art District, Guillermo Gomez, 27, of LA was cleaning up. Gomez said that he loves paper straws. Why? “They save the environment.” He said, “I would rather ban plastic straws.”

Gomez offered a thought for life under the second version of the Trump administration: “Spread love and kindness to humanity, to the world, to the earth, to the animals and be the example you want to see in the world.”