California 'Bans' Straws In Restaurants

PALO ALTO, CA -- Will the new law making California first in the nation to ban plastic straws be the straw that broke the camel’s back in the business community or will customers reward their local restaurants? That’s at least one question emerging from the bill California Gov. Jerry Brown just signed into law Thursday. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, the day after many slushy cocktails have probably been consumed.

Plastic is a part of everyday life – and is cheaper to use and buy than paper. Go to Amazon.com, and you’ll see how one can buy 100 plastic straws about a third cheaper than the paper variety.

Business groups from one side of the South Bay to the other are weighing the effect of the new law that applies to restaurants where customers are seated. When 2019 kicks in, customers will need to request a straw much like they do water. AB1884 is not a ban as much as a restriction or an extra step.

“We did not oppose this bill. We appreciate the fact that the legislation allows consumers to maintain choice. If they’d like a straw, they can ask for one,” California Restaurant Association Sharokina Shams said.

“No one who needs a straw will be deprived of one,” California Sen. Jerry Hill, who represents San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, told Patch. “That’s a good starting point for reducing waste from this type of single-use plastic. The measure is likely to prompt businesses that are not covered by AB1884 to consider their practices when it comes to straws.

Hill views the law as much a promotional vehicle as a legislative one by raising awareness.

It may have already been working. Cody McClelland of Barefoot Coffee in Campbell said the shop is “in transition” to eco-friendly straws that disintegrate.

Erick Suarez of Blvd. Coffee in Los Gatos said their place plans to refrain from serving straws unless by request even though it does not qualify as a full service restaurant.

C.J. Ericson, who works at the Milpitas Chamber of Commerce, said she was surprised to learn the cruise she’s planning to take in December on Norwegian Cruiselines will ban all straws. She quipped fellow travelers may “sell them on the deck.”

“How are you supposed to drink your margarita or strawberry daiquiri?” she said, listing other cruiselines such as even the party boat Carnival Cruises also banning straws.

Being in the business community, Ericson pondered the cost-effectiveness of swapping plastic for paper in everyday life.

At what price should society pay to clean up our beaches and oceans? The answer may be a no-brainer for eco-conscious cities like Palo Alto.

Just ask the Girl Scouts Palo Alto. The youngsters have launched a fullscale assault on the sucking devices by calling on local restaurants to stop using them. The troops were honored by the city last May for their “The Last Straw” campaign committing 37 local restaurants to removing straws from their businesses and therefore the environment.

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“Our residents want something compostable. They understand it’s good for the environment,” Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce Director of Membership Iris Chen said.

Chen doesn’t believe there will be a savings in restaurants having to buy fewer straws, but she thinks the eateries are behind the idea of keeping plastic straws out of the beaches and waterways.

More than 500 million straws are used everyday, with 8.3 billion polluting the world’s beaches every year, the National Geographic reports.

The California Coastal Commission notes straws represent the sixth leading cause of pollution on the state’s beaches.

The first straw was invented in 1888 by a man who wrapped strips of paper around a pencil. It ended up in a Mint Julep, the Smithsonian indicated.

--Image via Brenda Knox