LA's To-Go Straw Ban Goes Into Effect This Week

LOS ANGELES, CA — Don't be surprised when you don't get a straw with your Big Mac and soda this week. Los Angeles on Tuesday is poised to become the largest city to require restaurants to withhold plastic straws even with to-go cups. The new law that takes effect Tuesday carries the state ban on plastic straws a step further to include drive thrus and to-go orders.

Diners across the city will always have to request a straw, carry a reusable one, or endure the hardship of sipping from the rims of their cups. The new law takes effect as coastal communities statewide lead the charge in address the plastic pollution crisis affecting oceans. Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell , who spearheaded the ban, cited a report from the nonprofit Lonely Whale's campaign called Strawless Ocean, which stated Americans throw away 500 million plastic straws each day. Worldwide, plastic straws are among the top 10 marine debris items, according to the environmental advocacy group.

O'Farrell and the city's Bureau of Sanitation will remind all restaurant managers that starting Tuesday they will be required to withhold plastic straws unless a customer requests them.

"The new city law picks up where the state law stops," O'Farrell said in April. "As a coastal city and state, we owe it to our environment to do everything in our power to ensure we reduce single-use plastic waste."

The first phase of O'Farrell's "Straws on Request" initiative took effect this year on Earth Day, which applied to businesses with more than 26 employees.

The new law takes aim at reducing single-use plastic waste from littering beaches and waterways, O'Farrell said, and it applies to restaurants of all sizes.

O'Farrell plans to speak Monday morning at a news conference with various city officials and local restaurant owners.

Both the state and county recently adopted a single-use plastic straw policy, but O'Farrell said Los Angeles' law is more restrictive. In drive-thru restaurants, the customer will be notified to ask for a straw if one is needed.

City News Service