SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS Radio) -- Merchants and customers are adjusting to a new law that restricts the distribution of single-use plastic straws, including compostable plastic straws.
San Francisco's "Single-Use Foodware Plastics, Toxics and Litter Reduction Ordinance" took effect on Monday. According to the San Francisco Department of the Environment, "a single-use plastic straw may only be provided to a customer who specifically requests a plastic straw to accommodate a disability or medical need."
The law also bans a variety of single-use plastic foodware uitems, including plastic beverage plugs, plastic cocktail sticks, plastic stirrers and plastic toothpicks
Customers can get a paper or natural-fiber straw, but it must be certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute. City officials said compostable plastic straws are not permissible because, said the Department of the Environment, "they act like conventional plastic in our environment if littered".
