Next year will be the year of plastic straw bans. Beginning July 1, 2019, Santa Barbara's ordinance will make it unlawful for any beverage or food provider to give customers plastic straws (or plastic stirrers. Plastic cutlery may be given "upon request"). Under the ban for the State of California, which takes effect January 1, customers may ask for a plastic straw at fast-food restaurants (where the bulk of the straws are actually provided), coffee shops, and take-out restaurants, being exempt from state law.
With these kinds of exemptions and limitations, it is reasonable to ask, why bother? The answer is straight forward. Plastic trash has become the environmental scourge of our time. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that last year more than 33 million tons of plastic, most of which was not recycled, was thrown away by Americans. Worldwide the amount is staggering: 6.9 billion tons of plastic became trash last year, with 6.3 billion tons not recycled. Rather than nitpick the limitations of the bans, we should view them akin to having to ask for a glass of water during extreme drought — a window into something far larger than just a plastic straw.
Plastics are ubiquitous in modern society. They have transformed our lives. They've revolutionized medicine and lightened cars and jet aircraft, saving fuel and pollution. Plastics extend the life of food, deliver drinking water to poor people without water distribution systems, and more. These are all really good, important things. On the other hand, single-use plastics (bags, bottles, containers, cutlery, stirrers, and straws) are devastating the environment.