Berkeley ponders ordinance banning plastic straws

Plastic straws could be banned from the city of Berkeley, if a proposal from its city council passes Tuesday. Plastic straws could be banned from the city of Berkeley, if a proposal from its city council passes Tuesday. Photo: Ullstein Bild/ullstein Bild Via Getty Images Photo: Ullstein Bild/ullstein Bild Via Getty Images Image 1 of / 63 Caption Close Berkeley ponders ordinance banning plastic straws 1 / 63 Back to Gallery

The next plastic piece of convenience on the chopping block are drinking straws, as the city of Berkeley decides whether to create an ordinance banning the environmentally unfriendly item.

Drawn up by three City Council members, the city would seek to ban plastic drinking straws from its restaurants and coffee shops. On Tuesday, the council met to explore the idea of a ban, as KPIX reports.

"We do need to change our habits," said the council's Sophie Hahn, one of the three who penned the information report about the possible legislation. "The habits we have are destroying our planet."

Hahn also suggested that the additional cost associated with alternative biodegradable straws (which cost up to eight times more than the 1-cent plastic straws) be passed onto the consumer.

"(The ban would be) good for the fish in which we eat and it's good for the children who are exposed to BPE's in the plastic," said Ben Bartlett, who also served as an author of the report.

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The ban may seem like a small thing, but the National Parks Service reported that Americans use half a billion straws per day. The ban should help the city in reaching its Zero Waste Goal by 2020.

Berkeley's Zero Waste commission and the Community Environmental Advisory commission will then speak to local business about providing plastic straw alternatives, such as compostable or paper versions, according to the East Bay Express.

Several groups have been working on getting the single-use plastic out of cities, and a number of beaches in Southern California have banned plastics — straws included — from its beaches, according to the Orange County Register. The documentary, "Straws" (narrated by Oscar winner Tim Robbins) detailing the environmental issues with the item, was released just this year. The film site states that plastic straws were the fifth-most found trash on beaches, after bottle caps, wrappers and cigarette butts.

Berkeley isn't the only city considering a plastic straw ban, but if passed, it would be the one of the first cities in the state to do so. The city of Davis recently instituted its own law requiring restaurants to ask patrons if they would like a straw, rather than automatically providing one.

Leaders in Berkeley believe the bill will be passed in early 2018.