The New York City council introduced a proposal this week to ban plastic straws in city restaurants, with those that fail to comply being fined $100-$400. Mayor de Blasio then came out in favor of a ban too.
Mayor Poppins is back at it again.
To start, banning straws as ignores their practicality. Many disabled people rely on straws, and this ban would come without alternatives being available. Additionally, not all beverages can ditch the straw so easily. Imagine drinking a bubble tea, a frappe, or a milkshake without the straw.
It is also misguided as an environmental policy. Straws make up a minimal percentage of our plastic waste, and waste in the ocean is largely driven by China and other countries outside the U.S.
Further, some restaurants are dropping straws anyways, without City Hall nannying them into submission. In fact, 80 restaurants across the city have already taken steps to do so. There is no need for the city to step in, implementing an unnecessary ban, and adding another compliance cost to doing business in the city.
Enough with Mayor Poppins and Nanny Mc-Council. New York council members should think beyond the virtue signaling, and realize that a ban on straws will ultimately not have a positive impact on their constituents. This is a high effort, low yield solution that increases government regulation without accomplishing much that is not well on its way to happening in the private sector. This policy would be both senseless and overbearing.