Wauwatosa Considering Banning Plastic Straws

WAUWATOSA, WI — Wauwatosa may soon become the latest city to ban plastic straws from being used at area businesses, citing environmental concerns.

On Tuesday, Feb. 18, Wauwatosa officials will consider passing an ordinance that partially bans the use of plastic straws in the city.

Under the proposed ordinance, no business that serves food or drinks to the public may provide any customer with a single-use, plastic straw, where “single-use” means a product that is designed and intended to be used only once and is generally recognized by the public as an item that is to be discarded after one use.

“I think that taking care of our waterways and our national resources is something that Tosans are really excited to do,” Wauwatosa Alderwoman Heather Kuhl said during a recent meeting, as reported by JSOnline. “I think that (Wauwatosa residents) would be ready to just drink out of a cup instead of a plastic straw.” Kuhl brought the idea forward in 2019.

There are some exceptions to this ban. For example:

1) Prepackaged individual serving beverages where a small plastic straw is included in the packaging would still be allowed.

2. If a customer asks for a plastic straw, they could still get one, the ordinance states.

3. If a customer is served a thick beverage such as a milkshake, or smoothie, a non-plastic straw might not hold up, so plastic straws would still be allowed.

Under the ordinance, the city would allow a wide range of compostable straws. Wauwatosa's Sustainability Committee would maintain a list of acceptable compostable straws, which list would be made available on the City of Wauwatosa’s website and other locations as appropriate