In September 2018, California passed legislation to require that restaurants not offer plastic straws to customers except if the customer specifically requests it. Many cities have already outright banned the straws in their city’s businesses, but as far as a statewide ban goes this is the first of its kind.
Los Angles put their version of this ordinance into effect citywide on Earth Day (April 22, 2019).
From CBS Los Angeles:
“Under the ordinance, “all food and beverage facilities” in L.A. — including coffee shops, fast food restaurants, street carts, and food trucks — are prohibited “from providing or offering disposable plastic drinking straws to customers except upon customer request.
The ordinance took effect Monday for restaurants with 26 or more employees. It will then be expanded to all restaurants by Oct. 1.
The ordinance is a more restrictive expansion of a state law which was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last September that bars full-service restaurants from automatically giving out single-use plastic straws. However, state law does not apply to fast food restaurants.”
Hopefully, the ban will soon encompass fast food restaurants which seem like they may be the heaviest users of the single-use plastics.
Source: CBS Los Angeles.
Featured Image from Dissolve.com.
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