September 21, 2018
EATER by Whitney Filloon
Come 2019, California diners who want a plastic straw for their beverage will have to specifically ask for one. On Thursday, a bill banning full-service restaurants from automatically giving customers plastic straws was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown.
“Plastic has helped advance innovation in our society, but our infatuation with single-use convenience has led to disastrous consequences,” Brown wrote in a signing message per the Los Angeles Times.
Straws won’t be completely vanishing, though: In addition to customers at full-service restaurants being able to get one on request, the law does not apply to fast-food restaurants (arguably the biggest user of plastic straws), coffee shops, delis, or restaurants serving takeout, as Eater SF reports.
