I will answer the question in three parts. The first is very short. We must not claim that commonly used plastics are made of toxic material. This is simply because the word “toxic” has a definition similar to those used in normalized categories and properties. If you look at the WHMIS, the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, you will see a category of toxic material used in the workplace that describes exactly what the toxic properties are. None of our usual plastics fall into that category. The plastic itself is not toxic.
Then we are told that plastics can have substances contaminating their surface, substances that themselves are not very good. Now I really have to tell you that, in terms of industrial hygiene, the concentrations are so low that we are not able to observe any very specific and normalized effects of that contamination.
Second, you said that products made with alternative materials have to be used, such as paper straws. Does a paper or cardboard straw do the job if it is infused?
The quantity of the material used for the infusion and which can separate and pass into the digestive system is so small that you really have to compare the advantages and disadvantages side by side. Personally, I find the disadvantages are particularly weak and the advantages are very intriguing.
Third, we must not forget that, if we are using plastic materials that are not durable, we will go nowhere with materials that we call biodegradable or “biofragmentable”. They are a waste of energy and a waste of material.