California will become the first state to limit restaurants from providing plastic straws unless customers specifically ask for them.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill restricting the use of plastic straws at dine-in restaurants Thursday, citing plastic pollution in the oceans that kills marine animals.
“It is a very small step to make a customer who wants a plastic straw ask for it,” he said in a statement. “And it might make them pause and think again about an alternative. But one thing is clear, we must find ways to reduce and eventually eliminate single-use products.”
California already prohibits certain stores from giving out single-use carryout bags to customers.
[Opinion: California town will jail you for using a plastic straw]
Millions of tons of plastic waste are estimated to enter the ocean each year from rivers, with Asian rivers contributing an estimated 86 percent of the global total, according to a paper published in the journal Nature Communications.
Violation of the straw restriction carries a warning the first time. Any subsequent violations are punishable by a fine of $25 for each day the restaurant is in violation. A full-service restaurant cannot be fined more than $300 per year.
California’s law comes after some businesses and cities have already sought to limit use of plastic products.
Starbucks has vowed to stop using plastic straws by 2020, and Seattle has banned plastic utensils and straws from bars and businesses.
