A plastic stirrer for your morning coffee? Fuhgettaboutit. A straw to sip your favorite fruity cocktail? Nope.
New York soon could become the largest U.S. city to ban plastic straws and force its 8.5 million residents to use only compostable items when eating and drinking, joining a worldwide push to reduce the amount of plastic trash.
New York Councilman Rafael Espinal, a Brooklyn Democrat, introduced a bill in late May to prohibit all food establishments throughout the five boroughs from providing single-use plastic straws, beverage stirrers or any other nonbiodegradable product to customers.
Manhattan’s street corner food stands, stadium eateries, hotel bars, and coffee shops would be permitted to give out straws or stirrers made only from materials that have been proven to break down within a year into natural materials and do not hurt animals or marine life.
The Big Apple joins Seattle and a smattering of smaller cities in banning plastic straws. Some states, such as California, are considering similar legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Espinal, chairman of the New York City Council’s consumer affairs committee, said he introduced the bill because the public should be able to act on the knowledge that everyday items are polluting the environment, instead of remaining complicit.
“It’s no secret that we have a plastic problem. It is estimated that there are 13 million metric tons of plastic clogging our oceans and that 100,000 marine creatures die from plastic entanglement a year. But there is something we can do about this trend and it could be as simple as changing how you drink your iced coffee in the morning or your cocktail at night,” Espinal said at a May 23 press conference.
The New York legislation would still allow straws to be sold at grocery stores and bought online for personal use.
The Sierra Club, Oceanic Global Foundation, and Wildlife Conservation Society endorsed the bill, saying it should serve as an example to lawmakers across the country.
“Whether you are in Coney Island or Fiji, single-use plastic straws are a scourge on the world’s oceans. Today is the day we say enough, and show that we Give a Sip for whales, albatrosses, and sea turtles. We commend Council Member Espinal for his vision and leadership, and we look forward to swift passage of this legislation to make New York City — and its waterways — strawless,” said Wildlife Conservation Society spokesman John Calvelli.
However, the Plastics Industry Association said the bills to ban plastic straws, bags and other items are failing to address the underlying issue — the handling of trash rather than the trash itself.
“Straw bans are a distraction from real solutions to a real problem. It is a symbolic effort on the part of environmental groups to call attention to poor waste management issues without actually trying to address the waste management issues,” said Scott DeFife, vice president of government affairs at the plastics lobbying group.
In 2017, 9 percent of plastic garbage was recycled and 79 percent was piled up at landfills or dumped elsewhere, National Geographic reported.
“We would encourage cities who work with the industry in improving recycling and recovery alternatives, investing more in recycling infrastructure, waste management infrastructure, and providing consumers more curbside recycling options. It’s going to go a lot further addressing waste issues than banning one specific product.”
Switching to single-use paper straws or ones made with metal is the latest piece of legislation in the Empire State, where lawmakers are trying to prohibit plastic shopping bags as well as the sale of disposable bottles in city parks and beaches.
“We view eliminating plastic straws as the ‘gateway’ step for businesses and consumers to implementing sustainability on a larger scale. Our hope is that through taking this initial action, the city of New York will continue to move towards a greener future and inspire other global cities to follow its lead,” said Lea d’Auriol, Founder Oceanic Global Foundation.
The European Union last week proposed new laws to ban single-use plastic products including straws, stirrers and cutlery.
If the New York council passes the bill by the end of its legislative year in late June, the law would take effect 180 days after being signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has said he likes the idea.
First-time violators would be penalized $100. Second-time offenders would have to pay $200. The only exception would be for people with medical conditions who need to use the straws.
