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The Lola Coastal Mexican Restaurant attracts guests with the aroma of Mexican food and the promise of more than 200 tequilas to bolster their margaritas on a hot summer day. While guests may have their margarita with salt and a side of chips and salsa, a plastic straw will not be served.
Upon arrival, guests at the Highland Park neighborhood restaurant are greeted with a message that is becoming increasingly common in the Denver area: straws on request.
"Eliminating straws is obvious," said Dave Query, owner of Lola's parent company, Big Red F. "If all the restaurants in the United States had to embrace this, from McDonald's to The French Laundry, that would have a really dramatic effect. "
Lola is like a host of other businesses in Denver and throughout the state who are police as part of a conservation movement gaining momentum across the country.
Seattle instituted a city-wide ban on straws and plastic utensils in restaurants earlier this month.A few days later, Starbucks announced that it would replace disposable straws. by Strawless recyclable lids by the year 2020. Marriott International, Hyatt Hotels, Hilton Hotels, American Airlines and Bon Appetite University Food Service Provider do the same, phasing out plastic straws They are too small and light for be easily recycled and transition to more sustainable alternatives.
"A lot of people have been going there for a long time," said Carolyn Livingston, Director of Communications for Colorado Resta Urging Association. "Trying to be a hospital organization is what restaurants are all about." As customers want more sustainable options, restaurants are pointing to their offer. "
paper, or in the case of Bar Helix to RiNo, copper straws. retain however a small stock of plastic straws to accommodate the disabled customers for whom they work best.
The straw debate is the last part of the larger environmental conversation that began decades ago with recycling. plastic bags. While they are only responsible for a small percentage of plastic waste, they are viewed by activists as symbols of an increasingly polluted world.
"The straws I think are really an icon, the canary in the coal mine," said Harlin Savage, director of communications at Eco-Cycle, a non-profit recycling organization based in Boulder
The plastics industry claims that the bans do not take into account the benefits of the products.Effective that many alternatives, which reduces their environmental footprint by reducing waste, energy consumption and carbon emissions, "said Mia Freis Quinn, vice president of communications for the Plastics Industry Association." Investing in more global solutions to the challenges of waste management and recycling will have a much greater impact on waste than ever before. " A ban. "
In recent years, communities in Colorado – most mountain towns like Aspen, Crested Butte and Vail – have introduced jet bag fees from 10 to 20 cents or one-time plastic grocery bags completely prohibited. Since Aspen introduced a paper bag tax six years ago, it has generated nearly $ 300,000 and Liz Chapman, Aspen's environmental health specialist, said the first rumors have come to light. dissipated
. 19659002] Nevertheless, bag bans and disposable bag fees – as well as policies such as the prohibition of straw and Seattle utensils – may be subject in Colorado to a 1993 law encompassing broader legislation dealing with recycling. 
Bar Helix uses reusable straws in his drinks. Copper and paper straws are used in a variety of beverages and have been used by Helix since day one. The bar was photographed on Thursday, July 13, 2018. It states: "No local government unit shall require or prohibit the use or sale of certain types of plastic materials or products or restrict or require containers, wrappers or containers. labels for consumer products. "
Although the legislation falls under the authority of the Ministry of Public Health and the Colorado Environment, no means of enforcement has been established since its adoption, Meghan Hughes, Spokesperson for the Department of Materials and Hazardous Waste Management. I said. "If we are asked, we will probably advise any jurisdiction that is planning to ban a plastic such as straws, plastic bags, etc., to consult with its lawyer about the potential implications."
Chapman stated that the law has not been raised. a recent suit on luggage charges, telling him that this will not be a factor for banning cities.
In May, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in favor of Aspen and his surtax of 20 cents. The Colorado Union of Taxpayers, a non-profit conservative body, sued in August 2012, claiming that Aspen had imposed a "sin tax" without the approval of voters. The court ruled that the rights were not subject to the Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
Keith Geiger, Telluride Attorney, reviewed the law when the city was considering banning bags in 2011. He stated that his categorization Denver Attorney David Lane, a partner at Kilmer, Lane and Newman, said that There was no ambiguity to the law. "These are simple words, and they have a clear meaning."
For him, the legal framework is clear: cities are not allowed to impose bans on plastic straws or bags.
That's what the leaders of Avon's cities were also thinking of, but they nevertheless proceeded to their own ban in 2017.
"(The City Council) was aware of this status and advised by legal counsel, but we decided Preston Neill, director of the city of Avon
.In 2013, an effort to repeal the wording appearing to prohibit prohibitions occurred in committee. Legislative, House Democrats introduced a bill that would require grocers to collect a uniform 25-cent tax from anyone who uses plastic bags, regardless of the number.
Despite these setbacks, Chris Myers, former Telluride City Councilor believes the conversation will continue.
"There is power in the collective voice," Myers, "And I think that voice must be heard."
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