Joe Biden’s plan to ban popular kitchen product sparks fury as ‘world burns’

Republicans are outraged that the Biden administration is focusing its efforts on banning single-use plastic cutlery while wars rage and “the world is on fire.”

Earlier this month, the White House announced a plan to phase out single-use plastics in government facilities.

The administration said the program would also tighten regulations on U.S. plastics producers.

Republicans say the “ridiculous” move will “raise costs” and hurt U.S. plastics suppliers. They say the entire move is absurd and will surely backfire.

“The world is burning and he’s worried about plastic forks,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-N.D., told DailyMail.com, adding that the policy is “in line with the course” of the administration.

President Joe Biden’s administration has announced a plan for the U.S. government to phase out single-use plastic purchases. The directive will force government facilities, such as military bases, to find alternatives to plastic cutlery and other single-use products

The Biden administration’s plan calls for a ban on single-use plastics by 2027.

“Look, I certainly understand that plastic is a pollutant, we need to do a better job of dealing with it,” Rounds continued. “But I’m a little hesitant to say that this plastic ban is going to be a good thing.”

“Black-and-white mandates like this tend to backfire. I think there are things we could do as a government, and as individuals, to continue to improve our environment.”

Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, told DailyMail.com that Biden’s actions were “absurd” and “ridiculous.”

“First of all, what’s so bad about plastic forks and spoons? I would assume the biggest impact would be in government workplaces, military bases and places like that,” speculated Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

“Does that mean there will have to be stainless steel cutlery everywhere since there will be a lot of people doing the washing up, and what about people who need to take something with them?”

He said efforts to phase out single-use plastics are misguided and that if the White House really wants to reduce waste, it should reduce the scale of government, i.e. the consumer, rather than banning plastic, a consumer product.

“They should shrink government if they want it to be a smaller consumer. The reason it’s the largest consumer is because it employs so many people and does so many things it was probably never meant to do.”

“So if they want to reduce the negative impact of the U.S. government on the environment, they should adjust the size of government accordingly.”

Lee continued: “I hope this is not a step towards banning them, such as a general public ban.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-C., said addressing ocean plastic pollution is urgent but expressed skepticism about a ban.

“Well, I would like to address the problem of plastic in the ocean. But I’m not sure that’s the answer,” he told DailyMail.com.

The ban would impact federal cafeterias like the one on Capitol Hill, shown above during a pro-Gaza protest in April 2024.

The administration’s new plan is to ban the use of plastic containers in government facilities by

A checkout worker looks at a sign reading “Ban Plastic Bags” at a grocery store in New York City on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. Many types of plastic bags will be banned starting March 1, 2020, in New York state in an effort to reduce pollution

The main goal of the plan is to phase out single-use plastics used in food, packaging and events purchased by the federal government by 2027.

The goal is to completely eliminate all single-use plastics from federal operations by 2035.

“It’s more news and more ridiculousness, and it’s a direct shot at the entire industry,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com.

“It’s also clearly not where everyone is. It’s going to raise costs for a lot of people, so it just seems irrelevant to the deficit issues.”

Lankford, who served in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015, recalled a previous attempt to ban plastic dishes on Capitol Hill, noting that attempts to ban the products are typically rejected by new administrations.

The controversial decision to ban plastic spoons, forks and other items first outraged Republicans several years ago when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi first banned them in 2007.

When Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives in late 2011, they withdrew from the deal, citing the cost of shipping the compostable containers, which was expected to cost almost half a million dollars.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi banned plastic containers from the U.S. Capitol from 2007 to 2011 before Republicans took over and overturned the rule, Sen. Lankford noted

Senator Mike Lee speculated that the ruling would also affect military bases.

“As you know, we went through this on Capitol Hill when Speaker Pelosi said there would be easy-to-digest cutlery everywhere, and everybody went crazy about it until they started using it and realized they could eat as much as they wanted and it didn’t taste the best,” Lankford said of Pelosi’s 2007 Green Capitol initiative.

Pelosi’s plan to introduce biodegradable tableware on Capitol Hill was rejected by Republicans in 2011.

Styrofoam cups and plastic forks returned to Capitol dining rooms as the Republican Party, led by former Speaker John Boehner, regained power in the chamber.