In an article published on August 25, 2017 by news provider EcoWatch, reporter Lorraine Chow informed that the city of Seattle, U.S., will prohibit conventional plastic straws and other single-use plastic utensils at restaurants starting in 2018. Seattle passed an ordinance on compostable and recyclable food service ware in 2010 which will take effect on July 1, 2018. Food service businesses shall then provide compostable straws and utensils, or durable and reusable alternatives. Further, they shall encourage customers to do without straws altogether. The ban will only apply to restaurants serving food, Chow explained. Conventional plastic straws and utensils can still be bought at supermarket stores. In the U.S., 500 million plastic straws are used and discarded every day, amounting to over 180 billion straws a year, Chow noted. The resulting 1.4 million kg of plastic waste are sent to landfills or may end up in the oceans, polluting marine environment and endangering wildlife, she illustrated.
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Lorraine Chow (August 25, 2017). “Seattle to ban plastic straws, utensils at restaurants next year.” EcoWatch
