Manhattan Beach Votes To Ban Plastic Straws, Utensils, Stirrers

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA – City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to move forward with banning plastic straws, utensils, and stirrers at city bars and restaurants. The new law would require city bars and restaurants to provide alternative straws and utensils only on request, according to The Beach Reporter.

More than 18 California cities adopted similar laws, including Santa Monica and Malibu on the Westside, and more than 115 California cities have laws regulating polystyrene, Daily Breeze reported. Council directed staff to draft the ordinance, which will likely take effect next January.

Manhattan Beach passed one of the first city-wide bans on plastic bags in 2008, and eventually the state adopted similar prohibitions, according to The Beach reporter. Manhattan Beach then passed a ban on polystyrene cups, lids and straws in 2013 and updated the law in 2014 to include ice chests made of the same material.

The council held off on talking about raw food trays after a California Grocers Association representative objected, according to The Beach Reporter. They asked city staff to come back to city council with an analysis on raw food trays, along with mylar balloons, and plastic lids and bottles.

“When we talk about food packaging which is much different than bags, food safety has the highest priority,” Tim James, the group’s government relations manager, told The Beach Reporter. “Second to that is keeping the quality of that food good for the customer.”

Image via Shutterstock / Herlanzer Tenhue