Law Limiting Plastic Straw Use in Los Angeles in Effect on Apr 22, 2019

[DonRocks]

"Law Limiting Plastic Straw Use in LA Goes into Effect on Earth Day" on nbclosangeles.com

[Sundae in the Park]

The new LA law is not a ban per se, like in SF or Malibu, but it does affect fast food restaurants, so it is more restrictive than the state-wide bill passed last year. So far in Ventura County in sit-down places I've noticed that servers ask if I want a straw (not in compliance with the law, which says the customer has to ask and went into effect on January 1 this year), but I don't usually use them so haven't felt much of a difference.  In the more bougie areas (i.e., places with electric scooters scattered about like Santa Monica, UCLA-ish, etc.), it seems like they've already switched to paper/other reusable straws and have continued to just give them out.

[DonRocks]

9 hours ago, Sundae in the Park said:

The new LA law is not a ban per se, like in SF or Malibu, but it does affect fast food restaurants, so it is more restrictive than the state-wide bill passed last year. So far in Ventura County in sit-down places I've noticed that servers ask if I want a straw (not in compliance with the law, which says the customer has to ask and went into effect on January 1 this year), but I don't usually use them so haven't felt much of a difference.  In the more bougie areas (i.e., places with electric scooters scattered about like Santa Monica, UCLA-ish, etc.), it seems like they've already switched to paper/other reusable straws and have continued to just give them out.

As long as we're on the subject, look what I got as a gift, just yesterday:

(Kind of ironic that it's wrapped in paper and plastic, but what are you gonna do?)

Don Rockwell,
donrockwell.com
"Paper- and plastic-free since 2005!"

[dcs]

Pasta straws seem like they would hold up better in cold drinks than paper straws, but I have not put them to he test.

[DonRocks]

5 hours ago, dcs said:

Pasta straws seem like they would hold up better in cold drinks than paper straws, but I have not put them to he test.

They probably would, unless they break (but even still, so what? Just use another.).

 I happen to like paper straws (especially at first), which I've noticed quite a bit recently (at Kith/Kin, for example); metal straws are best of all, of course - they're wonderful.

[Sundae in the Park]

On 4/26/2019 at 11:02 PM, DonRocks said:

As long as we're on the subject, look what I got as a gift, just yesterday:

(Kind of ironic that it's wrapped in paper and plastic, but what are you gonna do?)

Don Rockwell,
donrockwell.com
"Paper- and plastic-free since 2005!"

Real question - are these for carrying around and using at restaurants, or just at home?  Do guys carry them around and, if so, where?  Presumably a woman with a bag can carry them there, perhaps with a cleaning rod and/or holder so your bag doesn't get wet, but they don't seem super pocket-friendly.  Maybe they are a reason to carry a man-purse? 

Paper straws have made it out to the 'burbs in Ventura County, as I've noticed their use a few times in the past month.

[DonRocks]

5 hours ago, Sundae in the Park said:

Real question - are these for carrying around and using at restaurants, or just at home? 

For me? Just at home - I'd never once thought of taking them into a restaurant, although now that I'm thinking about it, why not?

(This is largely tokenism; we're already totally hosed when it comes to climate change, pollution, etc.)

[susan]

When I asked for a straw at Masseria recently they brought me a bent -necked metal straw from the bar. I have to say it grossed me out. How do they clean them? What if something got stuck in the bent part? How are they sterilized and how does it get cleaned inside? What if it didn't get put into the cleaning cycle? At least with glassware and silverware you can see that it's not clean. I choose to just sip my drink straw-less. I would have preferred a paper straw.

[DonRocks]

5 hours ago, susan said:

When I asked for a straw at Masseria recently they brought me a bent -necked metal straw from the bar. I have to say it grossed me out. How do they clean them? What if something got stuck in the bent part? How are they sterilized and how does it get cleaned inside? What if it didn't get put into the cleaning cycle? At least with glassware and silverware you can see that it's not clean. I choose to just sip my drink straw-less. I would have preferred a paper straw.

That's an interesting take that I'd never before considered - the ones pictured above came with a pipe cleaner (which you can see in the right side of the box).

"Clean Your Metal Straws, for All That Is Good and Holy" by Rebecca Firsker on myrecipes.com

[Tweaked]

Straw straws