Sorry, Suckers: Seattle Becomes First U.S. City to Ban Plastic Straws and Utensils

The plastic straw industry continues to be under siege. In early 2018, Queen Elizabeth II banned the soda-slurping devices from Buckingham Palace. McDonald’s followed suit by scrubbing their 1300 UK restaurants free of the environmentally unfriendly tubes, which prove hard to recycle (they’re often too small to make it through recycling sorters) and can take a long time to decompose.

Seattle has now become the latest to toss them aside, The Hill reports. July 1 marked the beginning of a ban on plastic straws as well as plastic utensils—the first such citywide prohibition in the United States. The ban applies to more than 5000 restaurants and eateries in the city, and is part of an overall effort to curb landfill and water-clogging waste. Businesses caught doling out the contraband could be fined up to $250.

Consumers will be able to request compostable plastic or paper straws, though neither one is a perfect solution: The former can still prove problematic in oceans, and the latter can shrivel up when submerged in liquid. Those with medical needs will still have access to flexible straws.

New York and San Francisco are considering similar bans. Some companies are already anticipating a world with limited access to straws. Starbucks recently introduced a specially-designed lid for their cold drinks that makes sipping easier.