Anonymous
Source: City of Santa Barbara
Plastic Free July, a worldwide campaign to reduce single-use plastics, is upon us and with that the City of Santa Barbara’s Plastic Straw, Stirrer, and Cutlery Ordinance goes into effect. These types of single-use materials are commonly found littered throughout our local environment, polluting our storm drains, creeks, and beaches.
Who does the ordinance affect?
· The ordinance affects providers of prepared food or beverage for public consumption. Types of affected businesses might include but are not limited to: restaurants, cafes, bars, convenient stores, caterers, and hotels.
What does the ordinance do?
· The ordinance prohibits any food or beverage vendor from distributing plastic and compostable plant-based plastic straws and stirrers. Exemptions apply.
- The ordinance also requires that all plastic cutlery, compostable plastic cutlery, and alternative single-use straws (paper, straw, candy, pasta, etc.) are required to be “On Demand”. For these “on demand” items customers will have to verbally ask for them or the employee will have to ask the customer if they would like them before distribution.
Are there exemptions?
· Yes! Food or beverage providers are exempt from this ordinance in the instance that they provide a plastic beverage straw to a person in order to assure full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. We recommend that businesses have some plastic straws in stock, as for some individuals with disabilities, plastic straws are necessary to eat/drink. Creating/maintaining an inclusive environment means providing the accommodation needed for all to participate.
· Financial Hardship or Practical Difficulty Exemption – See ordinance info page for application details.
· Public Health and Safety Exemption – See ordinance info page for application details.
For ordinance explanations, business resources, and a link to the full ordinance text, visit: www.SBRecycles.org.
If you have questions regarding this ordinance or if you’re a business that needs assistance finding alternative products, please call the Environmental Services Division main line at (805) 564-5631. Our staff is here to help!
Other Common Questions
Are compostable plastic straws made from corn or sugarcane included in the ban?
Yes, compostable straws that look and feel like plastic are also banned. These straws are made of a plastic polymer derived from plants (instead of petroleum) called polylactic acid (PLA) and only compostable in some commercial composting facilities. They are not compostable in our yellow business foodscraps bins and they are not certified to biodegrade in the natural environment.
Can businesses place paper straws or plastic cutlery in a freely available container for customers to grab “on demand”?
· No, paper straws and plastic cutlery cannot be placed on the counter for customers to grab. There must be a verbal interaction whenany single-use straws or plastic cutlery are given out. “On demand” is defined as (1) the beverage provider or food provider first asks that person whether they want to receive the item and the person responds that he or she does; or (2) the customer affirmatively requests the item from the beverage provider or food provider.
· Businesses can, however, freely distribute reusable straws and cutlery to customers and then collect them for washing. Businesses can also sell reusable straws and to-go cutlery sets made of alternative materials like metal or bamboo.
Can I still go to the store to buy plastic straws in bulk or other products that include a prepacked plastic straw?
Yes you can. This ordinance does not affect plastic beverage straws, stirrers or cutlery when they are provided as a part of product that was packaged outside the City and sold within the City.
Use a straw, go to prison.
3 straws and your OUT!
Whataboutism: What about plastic drink lids, which are far more common? What about the free plastic vegetable/fruit bags, of which I may use ten or twenty of in a given visit, and available at all our grocery stores? Why on earth are we not banning those items too? Why have pissy half measures?
Got my paper straw with my McD’s shake the other day and it worked just fine. Just like when I was a kid.
I will exercise my right to request an emotional support straw from local establishments when served a beverage traditionally served with a straw.
Pirmix: You can definitely help as every little bit counts. When you transfer from SBCC to another learning institution, see if you can get your fellow students to stop using the red plastic party cups, or at a minumum, to collect, wash, and reuse them.
You just wait.
Ten years from now we will all be on EdHat complaining about the hundreds of Sea Turtles crawling all over our beaches.
You’ll be seeing people selling their hoarded plastic straws on Craigslist for hundreds of dollars apiece as “Turtle Repellent”.
What a convoluted law. I envision massive straw smuggling from Goleta through some quirky loophole. Figuring out the proper straw request etiquette will be really confusing for visitors. We need the creators of the show “Portlandia” to start making episodes about the crazy stuff that goes on in this town.
For all of those that can’t survive without a plastic straw here’s your loop hole:
Just ask your server for a plastic straw and say it’s for your disability, by law, they are not allowed to question your disability. Problem solved, you’ve got your favorite straw. Or bring your own.
Possession is 9/10 of the straw!
Yep, sure is and I’ll bet it’s just like that phony smoking ban in, Santa Barbara, that’s not enforced .
So are you spending $3 in gas and a few pounds of greenhouse gas CO2 to drive out to Costco for your dogs or are you suffering with your paper straws at the Milpas eatery? It’s a sacrifice either way I guess…..
There was a time, not too distant, when there were no plastic straws or, for that matter, not tons of plastic anywhere. Somehow we all managed to survive and lead uncomplicated, decent lives. Plastic anything is totally unnecessary.
Time will tell. I don’t see what people get out of opposing the overwhelming majority of scientists who believe in climate change caused by humans and all the evidence of extreme weather occurring around us. The consequences of being wrong are just too severe for your kids and grandkids. If you really can’t trust the experts, why not act in the most conservative way possible, in the best sense of that word?
Just had my McD shake with a paper straw. Worked just fine. World did not end. It could happen to you too.
Whataboutism is the weakest form of argument. To argue that if a solution doesn’t address the most serious problem, it is useless, is unreasonable. Especially when you and I would clearly never agree on which is the most serious problem. Unless you are trying to create a Catch-22? Maybe that is your aim.
I take the MTD line 27 to Costco… $2.20 for the r/t ….such a deal Pits.
Save the endangered Spork!
There also was a time when you could have an opinion, personal belief, political stance, religious afilliation, and so on without being castigated and damned to the basket of deplorables just because someone does not agree with you. So let people be.
JUL 02, 2019 05:47 PM——When was this “time” exactly? For their opinions, personal beliefs, political stances, religious affiliations (two ‘f’s there) people used to be burned at the stake, tortured (“Spanish Inquisition” ring a bell?), shunned, thrown into dungeons and so on. “Damned to the basket of deplorables” actually sounds quite innocuous, comparatively speaking.
To those who refuse to step into the 21st Century: We are at a time in our history where we have begun to recognize and understand that we humans need to take responsibility and deal with our negative affect on our planet. Get with the program, anti-enviros.
PITMIX, I love you. Really. You’re wonderful.
@9:23 If indeed you use ten or twenty produce bags each time you visit the grocery store, you have a problem that requires intervention and professional help. Here’s a start:
REDUCE->REUSE->RECYCLE
in that order
I think they are referring to this lifetime @6:08. That’s how I read it anyhow.
The newest fashion accessory will be the stainless steel straw case, much like a cigarette case from the 1930s. Dashing young men will be able to say to a helpless beautiful lady: “Pardon me, but you look like you could use astainless steel straw for your Chunky Matcha smoothie? I have one here for you in my monogrammed straw case”. What a day that will be.
This law would NEVER have been passed in the 1980’s. Just saying. Straws were VERY important to the leisure classes in SB back then…wink, wink, nod, nod.
“What about” how society escalated the Biblical injunction against murder to punish people for assault as well. Humans just have a history of taking things too far don’t they?
All the whining about one small change in our lives makes me think we have no shot at addressing the really big issues affecting us like climate change. Hope you are all ready for some extreme weather in the future, or do you think that SB is some how not affected by that?
Like “emotional” need scruffy pets in airplane cabins and “emotional” needs parking in handicapped slots: Not everyone cares.
Escalation to the absurd–great debate tactic but ridiculous.
Thanks for sharing your quick wit. Sorely missing in most discourse today and I am sometimes to blame.
ever get a smoothie and try to suck it through that flimsy paper straw that breaks down half way through the drink? i have. kinda lame. i’m on the beach A LOT and in the ocean as much….never seen a plastic straw there…or on my hikes. just another, ‘look how good we are in santa barbara’ thing…
To all of the polar caps have melted people, blue line folks, and other enviro alarmists: your fear mongering is not working.
This ordinance is insane putting SB restaurants and food shops at a competitive disadvantage. I still get a straw at Costco for my $1.50 hot dog and beverage, but not when I buy on Milpas.
Council loves to pass laws before confirming that DA Dudley will enforce. No point in police to cite for breaking the law, when DA won’t enforce.
You missed the point: It’s a stupid ordinance.
The kid paper straw dissolved in my margarita.
Ban all plastic and boxed plastic wrapped goods. Let’s go back to a meat and dairy shops, bakery, produce store like in Russia. Waiting in multiple lines is a good way to kill a day; unless Amazon delivers.
lol 1 downvote? you must really like that worthless paper straw. let’s actually think about this….paper straw. paper meets water/liquid. paper does what it normally does….it disintegrates and turns into mush. soon we’ll have paper machet on state street instead of confetti to gripe about… 😀
hey…the fountains work again. anyone notice this while using your paper straws downtown? I saw one dog in the fountain and it’s owner laughing about it….not the homeless people.
Good. I won’t lie. I’ll miss the big plastic straws for my milkshakes and theater sodas. But I sure the hell won’t miss them in my seafood!
Ban all life saving single use disposable plastic medical supplies and devices too I guess.
We should, actually. I switched to reusable fabric bags for produce.
Imagine the waste this proposal would prevent. On the small chance that you are being serious, I second that motion.
Obviously …And here you are .