The General Assembly today approved legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey and House Environment and Natural Resources Committee Chairman David A. Bennett to cut down on disposable plastic straw use in Rhode Island.
The bill (2021-S 0155A, 2021-H 5131A), which would take effect Jan. 1, would not be an outright ban, but would prohibit food service establishments from providing single-use plastic straws unless requested by the consumer. It would also not prevent people with disabilities, some of whom need straws, from getting them.
California has a similar law, and many municipalities have also adopted limits or bans.
The legislation now heads to the governor.