Unless customers asked for a single-use plastic straw in full-service restaurants, straws will no longer be automatically given out. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill last week that bans full-service restaurants in the state from handing them out to customers. This makes California the first state to ban restaurants from automatically providing plastic straws. Some cities have already taken the step; Seattle also banned the use of plastic utensils.
The California law doesn’t apply to fast food restaurants or convenience stores. Full-service restaurants can still hand out paper or metal straws unprompted by customers. Violators can face a $25 fine per day after two warnings. Assembly Bill 1884 was signed in efforts to reduce plastic pollution and will go into effect on January 1.
“Plastics, in all forms — straws, bottles, packaging, bags, etc. — are choking our planet,” Brown said in a statement. “It is a very small step to make a customer who wants a plastic straw ask for it,” he wrote. “And it might make them pause and think again about an alternative.”