Sonoma shoppers weigh in on proposed plastic straw ban

More Sonoma Valley residents could be sipping their beverages instead of sucking if Gov. Jerry Brown signs proposed legislation that recently passed the California Assembly and Senate.

The legislation, A.B. 1884, would require servers in full-service restaurants to ask customers if they want a straw, rather than automatically giving them one. Introduced by California State Assemblyman Ian Calderon (D-Whittier), it only applies to plastic straws, which several cities have already banned because of the harm to the environment.

The reasons are clear: The California Coastal Commission has recorded roughly 835,425 straws picked up between 1988 and 2014. Straws are the sixth most common item found during organized beach cleanups. This data doesn’t include straws picked up inland or around California’s lakes and waterways.

According to ZeroWaste Sonoma County, plastic doesn’t dissolve, but just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. It introduces toxic chemicals into the groundwater, attracts other pollutants and threatens wildlife, disrupting their habitat.

With that in mind, Sonoma’s Community Services and Environmental Commission has been looking into banning all single-use plastic at community events and the Sonoma City Council is planning to revise its special events policy regarding single-use plastics, including plastic straws.

If the Sonoma Valley residents quizzed by the Index-Tribune in the Sonoma Marketplace Shopping Center downtown Thursday are any indication, these changes will get little resistance.

“Using a straw is a privilege, not a right,” said Amy Arntz of Sonoma as she put groceries in her car outside the Whole Foods Market. “I feel that people should totally not be given straws unless they ask for them.” Arntz returned in April from a three-month trip to Asia, and said she was “appalled” by the plastic waste there.

“It was up and down the beach in Thailand. Straws, plastic bottles … all kinds of plastic,” Arntz said.

There’s absolutely no doubt that Arntz puts her money where her mouth is, and this is one instance in which the word “literally” is appropriate.

Arntz carries a metal straw everywhere with her in her purse, so she’s ready to drink her beverages in an environmentally safe manner anytime.

Divina Helene Coffin doesn’t carry a straw, but she showed a similar commitment to strawless beverage consumption.

“They’re not necessary. We don’t need straws,” the Sonoma resident said. Coffin, who has two sons, said that while it’s easier for children to learn to drink with straws, “kids don’t need them.”

“I would much rather that (servers) ask if you want one. That way you are much less likely to use them,” she said. She added, “If they have to have straws, paper is a much better alternative.”

Though somewhat less passionate than Arntz and Coffin, Josh Rombach of Sonoma was generally in agreement.

“Why not? You should have to ask for a straw,” he said as he strolled across the parking lot, grocery takeout food (and no straws) in hand.

Noreen Feig of Sonoma said, “I totally understand the waste and problems plastic is causing,” adding that she would be comfortable asking for a straw if the legislation is signed into law.

Feig’s friend Ellen Bradley of Kenwood, who was seated at a table chatting with Feig outside Whole Foods, agreed. “I’m happy to ask for a straw if I want one.”

She noted, “Statistics show that instead of being rife with straws, the oceans are rife with cigarette filters. Maybe we should focus on banning those.”

Cigarette butts have been the single most recovered item since collections began, according to the annual Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup.

Of course, not everyone supports the proposed legislation. Perhaps not surprisingly, a Southern California resident on a visit to Sonoma voiced opposition.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Eric Ziepke as he emerged from the Black Bear restaurant in the shopping center. “I heard if you are at a restaurant and the server gives you a straw, the restaurant owner could go to jail.”

Criminal penalties were initially incorrectly included in the bill because of a mixup, Calderon has said. The bill has since been reworked.

As presently written, the bill would specify that the first and second violations of these provisions would result in a notice of violation and any subsequent violation would be an infraction punishable by a fine of $25 for each day the full-service restaurant is in violation, but not to exceed an annual total of $300.

Reach Janis Mara at janis.mara@sonomanews.com.