Seattle bans plastic straws, utensils in food service businesses, a national first

Seattle has become the first major city in the United States to ban plastic straws and utensils at all food service businesses.

The ban means that after July 1, about 5,000 permitted food service businesses can no longer provide such items.

Instead, companies in the city have to give customers “compliant options”, including straws made of compostable paper or compostable plastic.

“Seattle residents are known for being very environmentally conscious. So they are often at the forefront of this kind of thing,” local resident Joel Chusid said.

Chusid said he occasionally uses straws for a frappuccino, but fully supports the change because “the biodegradable is better for the environment”.

Many residents may not notice the change, as most restaurants already had switched to compostable utensils and straws long before the ban.

In 2008, the city adopted an ordinance requiring one-time use food service items, including packaging and utensils, be recyclable or compostable. The ban has been technically in place since 2010, but the city issued a waiver for businesses because paper and biodegradable utensils and straws at the time could not match the effectiveness of their plastic counterparts.

The issue of straws’ impact on marine animals got more heated after a 2015 video showing scientists removing a straw from a sea turtle’s nose. The clip has more than 24 million views on YouTube.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, each plastic straw takes roughly 200 years to break down.

Because of their shape, straws are too small to be processed at recycling facilities and often end up in oceans. National Geographic reported in February that the US goes through roughly 500 million single-use plastic straws per day.

Globally the numbers are much higher. The Ocean Conservancy’s 2017 International Coastal Cleanup Report, which contains data from cleanup efforts in 112 countries, found plastic straws to be consistently in the top 10 of discarded items, contributing to some 8 million kilograms of ocean trash collected.

It is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea.

In Seattle, businesses that don’t make the change could face a fine of $250.

City officials told The Seattle Times, however, that the focus for the next year will be more on educating and assisting businesses with compliance than on enforcement.

Cities like Malibu, Davis, San Luis Obispo, Alameda and Santa Cruz in California and Miami Beach, Florida, already have banned plastic straws.

Legislation for a similar ban also has been recently proposed in other major US cities.

The European Union is pushing for a ban on many single-use plastic products, including straws, across its 27 member states by 2030.