Wrapped plastic straws at a bubble tea cafe.

Drinking straws are once again being targeted by New York City officials who want to reduce the amount of single-use plastic going into trash cans, landfills and the environment. Only instead of an outright ban, lawmakers are trying to discourage businesses from indiscriminately handing them out to everyone.

On Wednesday, the New York City Council overwhelmingly passed a bill requiring bars, restaurants, delis and other businesses that sell beverages to carry plastic straws—but to only give them to customers who ask for one. That would mean no more siphons handed over with every bodega soda bottle, and any straws available at self-serve stations would have to be compostable.

City Councilmember Helen Rosenthal, who sponsored the bill, said it’s a small but important move to reduce the amount of plastic waste New Yorkers generate.

“Step by step, we are limiting New York City's consumption of plastic, whether it's shopping bags, single-use bottles, eating utensils, and now straws,” Rosenthal said.

Listen to Danny Lewis's report on WNYC:

The bill has had a long road to becoming a city law. Rosenthal and then-Councilmember Rafael Espinal first introduced it in 2018 as a total ban on plastic straws. While this initial version had the support of Mayor Bill de Blasio and the restaurant industry, disability rights advocates said it would be harmful to people who require straws because of medical conditions. Some environmentalists also argue that consumer-focused efforts like this are red herrings, given that the vast majority of plastic waste and carbon emissions come from a few large corporations.

Still, Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Eric Goldstein says something as simple as only giving plastic straws to people who explicitly request one does, in fact, target manufacturers since it reduces the demand for their products.

“It's not the whole kettle of fish. There are many things we have to do to back off from our reliance on climate-altering fossil fuels. But it's another key step down the road,” Goldstein said. “It's going to transform beverage drinking habits and end the indiscriminate distribution of straws to every single customer every time you purchase a beverage, whether you need that straw or not.”

Even with the legislation finally going to the mayor’s desk for his signature, some companies and venues have already started the shift themselves. In 2018, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center became one of the first arenas in New York City to stop handing out straws, and Starbucks phased out straws and flat lids in September 2020. Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, says others in the food service industry will happily follow.

“First voluntarily, and now by policy, restaurants here have dramatically limited the usage of plastic straws while still accommodating the preferences of customers,” Rigie said. “We’re proud of the efforts local restaurants have taken to reduce the use of straws, in turn reducing pollution in our waterways and impact on wildlife, which restaurants share a special symbiotic relationship.”

If Mayor de Blasio signs the bill, it will go into effect in November. While Goldstein said it might seem like a drop in the bucket, any little bit helps.

“We're going to have to find ways to shut down the fossil fuel spigot and reverse our reliance on throwaway plastics like straws and plastic bags,” Goldstein said. “There's much more that we'll need to do ultimately. But if we can't address the simple-to-change habits, it's going to be a difficult time, and the planet is going to get hotter, and the waters are going to keep rising.”

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