California Bill AB 1884 (Calderon/Bloom), which calls upon dine-in, full service restaurants to only give customer straws upon request, passed the State Assembly by a 45 to 17 margin with 16 “not voting.” The bill now goes to the State Senate.
This victory follows closely behind Environment California’s campaign launch, “Wildlife Over Waste.”
“Straws are one of the mostly unnecessary, single-use disposable items that are consistently found as litter in our streets, parks, waterways and ocean. Giving consumers a choice as to whether or not they would like a straw reduces plastic pollution at its source, saves businesses money, and raises awareness about the growing plastic pollution crisis,” said Genevieve Abedon of Ecoconsult, who represents the Clean Seas Lobbying Coalition, a group of eleven non-profit organizations dedicated to promoting plastic pollution solutions in the Capitol.
Already, many cities and counties have banned single-use plastic straws or only make them available upon request. For example, Santa Cruz County banned plastic straws, stir sticks and cutlery in 2017, and required all food service products to be recyclable or compostable.
Published in the August 2018 Edition