The Ban on Plastic Straws
Here’s the good news when it comes to the ban, enacted in 2018, on plastic straws: If you’re at a dine-in restaurant, you’ll no longer get a plastic straw unless you expressly ask for one. And, with the exception of people with medical conditions that necessitate using a straw, how about you just don’t ask? There’s still a lot of work to be done on the subject, though. Plastic straws are the sixth largest source of waste on California’s beaches and the ban, signed last year by Gov. Jerry Brown, doesn’t include the single largest creator of plastic straw waste: fast-food restaurants. Nor does it ban coffee shops, delis or caterers from handing them out. And it can’t do anything about all those straws tossed after people finished off their Big Gulps. A baby step is better than no step, when it comes to the health of the planet. Bonus points to the hipsters who carry reusable metal or glass straws in their hemp-woven bags.