Plastic straws may soon be a rare sighting in Newark

The city of Newark isn't likely to ban plastic straws anytime soon, but the single-use, environmentally harmful drinking products may soon become a much rarer sight at local restaurants. 

The City Council on Monday took the first step toward creating a new policy that would keep businesses from handing out plastic straws unless customers specifically request them. 

City Manager Tom Coleman has been tasked with drafting the new law and coming up with a public education campaign the council can vote on during one of its next meetings. 

Once passed, plastic straws will no longer be plopped down on tables or tossed into cups on their way out of the kitchen. 

“Straws are just the tip of the iceberg, I agree with that," Sheila Smith said during the council's meeting on Monday. 

She is a member of the Conservation Advisory Commission, a volunteer group that makes recommendations to the council on how to better protect the environment.

The commission and a group of students from Newark Charter School have been pushing to reduce the number of straws used in the city. 

"They are not recyclable and they’re very small and they do end up in places that are problematic," Smith said. "If you care about wildlife and care about the cleanliness oceans and waterways, you’re going to be concerned about straws.”

Plus, plastic straws are largely unnecessary, she argued.

Though some view them as more hygienic because they keep your lips from touching cups, there are reusable metal straws available and some restaurants have switched to more environmentally-friendly paper straws. 

That's if you insist on using a straw at all. 

“How many people actually use a straw at home?" asked Smith, who says she frequently picks up garbage while walking and sees plastic lids with straws from Starbucks, Dunkin' and McDonald's. "If you think of it that way ... how is it that everyone needs a straw when they go out?”

Newark would not be the first to restrict or ban the use of plastic straws. In July 2018, Seattle outlawed their use altogether, becoming the largest city in the country to do so. 

Several other cities and government entities made the move after a video of scientists removing a straw from a sea turtle's nose went viral in 2015, according to National Geographic. 

More than 500 million straws are used every single day in the U.S., according to one recent estimate. A 2018 study predicts that as many as 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute the world's beaches, posing a danger to marine and other wildlife. 

Dee Durham, a New Castle County councilwoman who co-founded the advocacy group Plastic Free Delaware and was instrumental in the effort to ban plastic bags in Delaware, said the average American uses 1.6 straws a day. 

"So you do the math," she said. "I'm sure it's not just Newark residents, but it's all the people who come to dine here every day." 

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If all 33,858 Newark residents did use 1.6 plastic straws a day, the city would go through about 19.7 million every year. That's a rough estimate and doesn't account for college students or people visiting from out-of-town. 

It also doesn't account for restaurants who have already taken steps to limit their plastic straw use. 

Newark Charter students have already convinced at least 15 restaurants to provide straws by request only, according to the school's Facebook page. Grain Craft Bar + Kitchen, which has a location on Main Street in Newark, made the switch in 2017. 

There are also restaurants, such as the Greene Turtle chain, that have switched to biodegradable paper straws. 

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Though some members of the Newark City Council were in favor of a full ban on plastic straws, they thought there would be pushback from the community.

“I’m old enough that my first straw was paper, so I know paper is possible," Councilman Stu Markham said. 

A "by request only" policy could be a compromise and also answer concerns about people who have disabilities and might need straws to consume certain food and drinks. 

The council also felt strongly about rolling out the new policy in conjunction with a public education campaign. Councilors thought enforcing the new law could be difficult, but that by informing the public of the dangers of plastic straws the transition might happen more organically. 

Durham, with Plastic Free Delaware, said a focus on education instead of enforcement helps create a "court of public opinion" where customers feel pressured to make the more environmentally-friendly choice. 

Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.