California Considers Fines, Jail for Waiters Offering Plastic Straws

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A Democratic lawmaker in California wants restaurants to stop giving out straws.

Reason reports, Ian Calderon, the Democratic House majority leader in California, has introduced a bill to stop sit-down restaurants from offering customers straws with their drinks unless they request one.

Under his law, a waiter who serves a drink with an unrequested straw would face up to 6 months in jail and a fine up to $1,000.

Calderon’s bill is based on numbers put out by recycling company Eco-Cycle, who says 500 million plastic straws a day end up in waterways and oceans.

That figure is based on “research” done by 16-year-old Milo Cress, who says he conducted a survey of straw manufacturers to arrive at the 500 million number, when he was just nine years old.

Corrie O'Connor