California Bans Plastic Straws for Dine-in Use

 

According to The Chronicle (San Francisco, Cali., USA) in a Sept. 20, 2018 report, Governor Jerry Brown said California needs to eliminate plastic that people use once and throw away (single-use), and this past Thursday took a step in that direction — signing a bill that makes the state the first in the U.S. to ban restaurants from handing out plastic straws unless a customer asks for one.

Brown and other supporters acknowledged that the law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2019, is limited in its scope. It applies only to dine-in restaurants and exempts the biggest sources of straw pollution — fast-food restaurants, delicatessens, coffee stores, and any other outlet that supplies takeout orders. But in his signing message, the governor argued that the law’s limited impact is a point in its favor — that it might spur Californians to limit their plastic consumption on their own, without the state having to mandate it.

"It is a very small step to make a customer who wants a plastic straw ask for it," Brown said. "And it might make them pause and think again about an alternative. But one thing is clear, we must find ways to reduce and eventually eliminate single-use plastic products."

 

There have been ongoing efforts in the state to lobby toward use of paper straws, according to the report. Gwyneth Borden, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, said that "most restaurants and bars have already started to move in the direction of only offering plastic straws upon request, and some have only been offering paper straws."

The problem, she said, is that it is now hard to get paper straws because of the demand.

"There is a massive shortage," Borden said. "Obviously with a shortage of supply, paper straw prices are going to go up."