Plastic straws can only be used once, but it takes 200 years to break down in the environment.
Previously, the operation was using 100,000+ plastic straws monthly for alcohol testing. But with paper straws, the number of straws used monthly is now being reduced because an employee can now use a paper straw several times before it can be disposed.
Lihir’s Purchasing Coordinator, Liz Rogers, said the paper straws were trialed on site months ago to assess how they work.