US President Donald Trump is moving to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, declaring that paper straws don't last very long.

“It’s a ridiculous situation. We’re going back to plastic straws,” Trump said on Monday as he signed an executive order to review federal purchasing policies that restrict plastic straws.

The move by Trump - whose 2019 re-election campaign sold Trump-branded re-usable plastic straws - targets a Biden administration policy to phase out federal purchases of single-use plastics, including straws, from food service operations, events and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035.

Trump declared President Joe Biden’s policy “DEAD!” in a social media post over the weekend.

While plastic straws have been blamed for polluting oceans and harming marine life, Trump said he thinks "it's okay” to continue using them.

“I don’t think that plastic is going to affect the sharks very much as they’re... munching their way through the ocean,'' he said at a White House announcement.

He also complained that paper straws "don't work".

"I've had them many times, and on occasion, they break, they explode. If something's hot, they don't last very long, like a matter of minutes, sometimes a matter of seconds." Trump said.

The plastic manufacturing industry applauded Trump's move.

“Straws are just the beginning,” Matt Seaholm, president and CEO of the Plastics Industry Association, said in a statement. "Back to Plastic is a movement we should all get behind.”

More than 390 million straws are used every day in the United States, mostly for 30 minutes or less, according to advocacy group Straws Turtle Island Restoration Network.

Straws take at least 200 years to decompose and pose a threat to turtles and other wildlife as they degrade into microplastics, the group says.

Every year, the world produces more than 400 million tonnes of new plastic. About 40 per cent of all plastics are used in packaging, according to the United Nations.

Globally, nations are creating a treaty to address plastic pollution. Leaders met for a week in South Korea last year but didn’t reach an agreement. (Agencies)