As the new year began, a rash of new laws went into effect. Among them was one regulating an implement that has become a regular part of Angelenos everyday lives ‒ the disposable plastic drinking straw.
California’s new law prevents sit-down restaurants from giving customers single-use plastic straws unless the customer asks for one.
The Los Angeles City Council also unanimously approved a proposal last month that could set the stage to ban plastic straws in L.A. restaurants (both sit-down and fast food establishments) by 2021.
As the push to move away from disposable plastic straws gains steam, it has become increasingly obvious that the alternatives don’t stand up to the task (some literally ‒ looking at you, paper straws).
Whether they’re made from inflexible materials that, frankly, could cause injuries to the clumsier among us, are made from porous materials that raise questions about cleanliness, or biodegradable materials that begin to degrade before one’s finished drinking, the current crop of environmentally friendly drinking implements leaves much to be desired.
While these may be minor annoyances to able-bodied consumers, disability rights advocates have been raising far more serious concerns regarding the law’s impact on safety and accessibility for consumers with physical disabilities.
Activists have pointed out that the current sustainable options are often too inflexible for people with limited mobility to use, could become a choking hazard or even expose people with severe allergies to allergens if the straws begin to dissolve in the liquid being consumed.
We don’t dispute the need to find sustainable alternatives to disposable plastic utensils nor the need for Angelenos to wean ourselves off of our dependence on the material.
We hope this trend awakens an innovative spirit in L.A.’s business community and moves them to come up with better alternatives.
Los Angeles and California are not alone in looking to phase out single-use plastic products. Cities like Seattle; St. Petersburg, Fla.; and Charleston, S.C., have all instituted some sort of ban on disposable plastic items. And large multinational corporations like Seattle-based Starbucks Corp. and Walt Disney Co., based in Burbank, have announced plans to phase out the use of plastic straws.
The demand for a workable alternative to single-use plastic straws will only grow. This leaves much room for enterprising companies to create sustainable products consumers will actually want to use, as opposed to being forced to choose the least-worst alternative.
Advocates pushing the straw bans say they hope this will be the beginning of a movement.
We hope the bans inspire an innovative streak in L.A. businesses. Surely the nation that has put men on the moon can come up with straw alternatives that don’t go limp within minutes of being placed in a liquid.
