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California Governor Jerry Brown (D) signed the first law prohibiting restaurants from supplying plastic straw unless customers ask for it.
In an announcement regarding Bill's passage Thursday, Brown cited the harmful effects of plastic on the planet. "Plastic has helped advance innovation in our society, but our craze for single-use convenience has had disastrous consequences," the governor wrote.
A debate over plastic straws has erupted in recent months as several large cities have instituted or considered similar bans. Seattle became the first major city in the United States to ban straws and plastic utensils in all catering businesses in July. San Francisco is considering similar legislation.
Earlier this year, the European Union proposed to ban plastic products, including straws, cotton swabs and sticks. Vancouver, Canada, has also approved the ban on plastic straws this year. Scotland has announced plans to ban plastic straws by 2019, while Taiwan plans to ban a number of single-use plastic items, including straws, goblets and shopping bags. , by 2030.
Some opponents accuse these prohibitions of interference in personal life. Others expressed concern that banning plastic straws will hurt members of the disability community who can not lift cups and push them to drink.
Defenders say that straws and other small pieces of plastic are among the most frequently thrown objects and can easily reach the ocean when they drop the storm sewers. Due to their size and composition, plastic straws generally can not be recycled.
Experts say that plastic waste, as a whole, account for up to 80% of all waste in the ocean. And this is one of the biggest threats to marine life.
According to the United Nations, "plastic waste kills up to 1 million seabirds every year, 100,000 marine mammals, sea turtles and countless fish".
"Plastics in all their forms – straws, bottles, packaging, bags, etc. – are choking our planet, "wrote Brown. "It's a very small step to ask a customer who wants a plastic straw to ask for it."
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