Say your final goodbyes to single-use plastic straws and stirrers—the grace period for D.C. businesses switching over to more environmentally friendly materials is over. Starting on July 1, businesses can be fined $100 to $800 (or more) for failing to comply with the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment’s ban on plastic straws, which tend to end up in waterways because they’re too small to be processed by recycling facilities. Here’s what you need to know.
I thought plastic straws were already banned.
That’s correct—the law banning plastic straws technically went into effect in October of last year. (Single-use plastic straws and stirrers were actually banned before then with the passing of the Sustainable DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2014, but it wasn’t enforced. According to Councilmember Mary Cheh, DOEE even told businesses that plastic straws were allowed.) However, the District gave businesses until January 1 of this year to get rid of their plastic straws and find an alternative. After that, DOEE began inspecting businesses for compliance and issuing unofficial warnings.
But come next Monday, July 1, DOEE can actually start fining businesses who don’t comply with the rules.
What happens to businesses if they don’t comply with the new regulations?
While first-time offenders will likely receive a warning notice, subsequent fines will be costly. Businesses can be fined between $100 and $800 if DOEE inspects them and finds a business providing single-use plastic straws to customers (this doesn’t apply to customers with disabilities, more on that below). DOEE also reserves the right to issue a general fine for straw use or a fine per plastic straw observed. Potentially, fines could then reach beyond $800.
How do the fines work?
Lillian Power, Environmental Protection Specialist with DOEE, tells DCist via email that fine amounts are based on the number of previous violations a business has—if it’s a business’ first violation, the fine would be $100; if it’s their second, it would be $200, and so on. But because inspectors also have the discretion to issue fines per banned item, they could actually issue fines in the thousands of dollars. For example, say an inspector sees a second-time offender providing five plastic straws to customers, they could issue a $200 fine per straw.
How is DOEE catching these straw offenders?
According to a spokesperson from DOEE, the department investigates more than 300 businesses each year to check for compliance with the styrofoam ban, as well as the recyclable and compostable food service ware requirements. They conduct these inspections at businesses throughout the year (though it’s not clear if they’re quite as aggressive as The Daily Show suggests).
Customers can also send a tip to DOEE if they see a business that isn’t in compliance with the law.
What are businesses supposed to use instead of plastic straws?
DOEE’s list of acceptable materials for straws include compostable and/or reusable straws, such as those made from paper, bamboo, hay, stainless steel, and glass.
Although the department acknowledges that those options tend to be more expensive than those made of plastic, they are telling businesses to offset these costs by simply not offering straws in the first place. “Many beverages do not need straws at all for consumption,” the department notes.
What about customers with disabilities who still use plastic straws?
Because some customers with disabilities require plastic straws to drink, businesses will be required to keep a limited supply of plastic straws on site. These will be given upon request to customers with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the DC Human Rights Act.
Have businesses been cutting down on straws during the grace period?
According to Power, government inspectors have seen an increase in compliance since January; however, she notes that some businesses are waiting until the July 1 enforcement deadline to fully transition to acceptable materials. With that deadline coming up, DOEE expects to see a significant increase in compliance by next week.
Has there been any resistance from businesses?
“We’ve received feedback from businesses that varies from enthusiastic support to mild annoyance, but no strong push back,” writes Power. “District businesses … seem to understand that D.C. is going to keep up its momentum to reduce single-use plastics.”
Many businesses tell DCist that the transition hasn’t been difficult. The ways restaurants have been replacing their plastic have varied. Ellen Kassoff and Chef Todd Gray, co-owners of Equinox restaurant, say they got rid of their plastic straws two years ago and have been providing ones made of stainless steel to customers who ask for it. Service Bar DC substituted metal and bamboo straws for plastic ones in 2016, according to co-owner Chad Spangler. “It is definitely more expensive than plastic straws due to theft, and requires a significant amount of extra work to clean them,” he says, but calls the transition “manageable.”
In addition, minibar by José Andrés used plastic straws for staff behind the bar until three years ago and have always provided metal straws for patrons, per public relations manager Clare Zenczak. Cava also replaced their single-use plastic straws with a compostable paper alternative in 2018. All of these businesses have signed on with Our Last Straw, the organization focused on eliminating single-use plastic straws.
OK, so what’s the next plastic everyone is targeting?
According to Dan Simons, founder of Our Last Straw and of Farmers Restaurant Group, next on their docket is all single-use plastic items, which include utensils, cups, bottles, and the like.
“This is the type of outcome I envisioned when I started OLS,” he says, “business and government joining together for sensible, important regulation.”
This story has been updated to correct how long minibar has been using metal straws.
