Brown Signs California Restaurant Straw Restriction

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a law that will prohibit restaurants from giving patrons straws unless the patrons request them. Brown issued a signing statement indicating that the bill’s purpose is to reduce plastic waste. “Ocean plastic is estimated to kill millions of marine animals each year,” Brown states. “Nor are humans immune as microplastics were recently found in tap water around the world. Plastics, in all forms—straws, bottles, packaging, bags, etc.—are choking our planet. It is a very small step to make a customer who wants a plastic straw ask for it. And it might make them pause and think again about an alternative. But one thing is clear, we must find ways to reduce and eventually eliminate single-use plastic products.”