Plastic straws may soon be on the chopping block. An NYC councilman聽today hoping to ban the use of plastic straws in restaurants, bars, and cafes across the city 鈥� joining聽聽to mitigate the environmental impact of the utensil.
Councilman Rafael Espinal, who represents portions of Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, Crown Heights, Cypress Hills, and East New York, is putting forth the bill today. He tells the聽Times聽that it鈥檚 an urgent environmental issue, pointing to an incident in April聽聽with more than 60 pounds of trash inside of it.
Unlike other forms of plastic, plastic straws cannot be recycled, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society聽聽鈥� making them a top 10 type of debris that end up in the ocean.
If the bill passes, no food service business would be able to offer single-use plastic straws or coffee stirrers, and people who disobey the law will be fined, with the penalty starting at $100.
Though Espinal points to the whale incident as what prompted him, in fact, the no-straw movement has gained a lot of traction in the press in the last couple months. In January, a Southern California official聽聽at full-service restaurants, meaning people only got one if they requested it. Shortly after, Malibu聽聽plastic straws, and Portland restaurants and bars, too.
In New York, dozens of restaurants and bars聽聽they, too, are ditching plastic straws. Last week, Danny Meyer announced that Union Square Hospitality Group聽聽with a 鈥渂iodegradable alternative.鈥�
Espinal says he doesn鈥檛 鈥渂elieve there any huge obstacles,鈥� saying it鈥檚 not a necessity for most people. But like with the proposed plastic bag ban and聽, it will likely still face resistance from New Yorkers and from the small business owners who make up a huge number of people impacted.
Plastic straws are cheaper than alternatives, and there鈥檚 a huge demand for them. One coffee shop manager聽聽that its customers will bring in reusable cups, but straws are out of the question: 鈥淎ctually, if we run out of straws at a condiment station for, like, 30 seconds, there is an uproar,鈥� said Emma Stratigos of Gregorys Coffee in Greenwich Village.
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