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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – People who want straws with their drinks at California restaurants will have to apply for them under a new law.
The law signed Thursday by Governor Jerry Brown makes California the first state to ban full-service restaurants from automatically distributing disposable plastic straws. It takes effect next year.
The law does not ban plastic straws like some cities. San Francisco and Seattle have adopted bans earlier this year.
Californian restaurants that do not comply will receive two warnings before being fined up to $ 300 a year. It will only apply to full service restaurants and not to fast food restaurants.
Democratic legislators who support this policy call it a small step towards reducing ocean pollution.
Brown, who made environmental issues a priority, pointed to the large amount of plastic spilled each year in the oceans, which can kill whales and fish and contaminate people's food and water supplies.
"Plastic has helped advance innovation in our society, but our craze for single-use ease of use has had disastrous consequences," Brown said in a statement. "Plastics, in all their forms – straws, bottles, packaging, bags, etc. – are stifling the planet".
Critics say the new California law is a government measure that will not significantly improve the environment. Some say that restricting straws hurts people with disabilities who rely on them.
Some Republican lawmakers who voted against the measure said they would unfairly punish the restaurants, although the restaurant sector does not oppose the proposal.
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