The straw ban has officially come to Washington, D.C.
While a ban on plastic drinking straws took effect on January 1, 2019, restaurants were only given a warning if they were found in violation of the law. On Monday, however, businesses that provide disposable plastic straws will be fined between $100 and $800 if their employees repeatedly provide the straws, WTOP reported.
City inspectors had been traveling to businesses throughout the district and handing out warning letters to those noticeably carrying plastic straws, The Washington Post reported.
“Businesses are allowed to keep a small stock of plastic straws for customers with disabilities,” the outlet added.
Bans on plastic straws have spread across the country thanks to a poorly conducted “study” from a 9-year-old. Proponents of the straw ban constantly point to a claim that Americans use 500 million plastic straws each day. That figure comes not from the National Park Service, as it is often attributed, and not from recycling company Eco-Cycle, cited by NPS, but from a phone survey that Milo Cress conducted when he was nine. Cress simply called up straw manufacturers and asked for their estimates. Now, nearly a decade after the phone survey, politicians are imposing a ban and punishing people found in violation. – READ MORE