WASHINGTON -- D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans introduced a bill on Tuesday which would ban plastic straws in restaurants.
The bill that comes just after Seattle became the first major city to ban plastic straws and follows a trend of other major cities, including New York City, to consider making the move as well.
It's called the Sustainable Straws and Stirrers Amendment Act of 2018 and it would prevent restaurants from offering non-compostable straws and stirrers to customers.
“Straws and stirrers are small and slip through recycling systems. It can more than 400 years to biodegrade,” Councilmember Evans said on Tuesday.
He went on to call for “plastic-free waterways and oceans.”
According to advocacy organization For a Strawless Ocean, Americans use over 500 million straws in one day and that they’re too light to be properly recycled. Therefore, they end up in the ocean or waterways.
Already major corporations are also moving to ban straws. As Councilmember Evans pointed out Tuesday, both Starbucks and McDonalds have begun exploring alternative options to plastic straws.
Some eco-friendly solutions include metal straws, bamboo straws and glass straws. For a Strawless Ocean’s website even offers up places where consumers can buy alternatives.
However, banning straws and offering alternatives may not work for everyone. The BBC reported in February that disability activist groups say that plastic straws are necessary for people with disabilities and bans that require alternatives to plastic may even be harmful to these individuals.
So far, no one on the D.C. Council has brought up what the effect could be on people with disabilities.
Councilmember Cheh did say during the meeting that she has spoken with restaurant representatives who are interested in the initiative, whether or not the D.C. Council pursues it.
RELATED: Alternatives to plastic straws
“We are just polluting our rivers, everything, with this plastic stuff,” Councilmembers Evans told the D.C. Council on Tuesday. At one point, he picked up a plastic water bottle and a plastic straw to emphasize his point.
“Plastic straws are just a disaster. They’re everywhere,” he said, holding the green plastic straw up.
A majority of Councilmembers became co-sponsors after the legislation was introduced.
D.C. law already bans the use of Styrofoam for food ware, and also requires restaurants to follow recyclable and compostable guidelines.
The bill will now go to the Committee on Transportation and the Environment, a committee that Councilmember Evans sits on, a place he might bring his passion for the bill.
“Straws and stirrers have no place in the ocean and in our city,” he said on Tuesday.
