In Portland, plastic straws and utensils now are available only upon request

(OCTOBER 4, 2019) Portland has a new policy about plastic straws and utensils with food or drink orders. In the past, restaurants and stores gave customers plastic straws and utensils automatically. Starting October 1, customers must now ask for these things.

The Portland City Council hopes that this will reduce the use -- and waste -- of single-use plastics that hurt the environment. "Single-use" means that the item is used one time and then thrown away. The policy affects straws; utensils, such as forks, knives, and spoons; as well as single-use packets of condiments, such as ketchup or soy sauce.

The new policy affects restaurants, food carts, hotels, and bars -- any place that sells food or drink. Many of these businesses already made a change. They now use straws and utensils made from paper, bamboo, or metal. If a business does not follow the new rule, they could receive a $500 fine.

“While we understand there are many types of single use plastics -- and, in fact, half the plastics in the world are designed to be single use -- this is really kind of starting a conversation rather than trying to fix the problem of ocean plastics,” Pete Chism-Winfield said. He works for the city of Portland. “We are a piece of a puzzle that is way bigger than us but at least we are doing something."