2019 is already identifying itself as a year of change!
Washington D.C. has officially become the second major city in the United States to ban the usage of plastic straws in "restaurants and other other businesses," only behind Seattle. You will still see the typical plastic straws around for the next seven months or so though as fines will not be enforced until July as The Department of Energy and Environment is now in the phase of issuing "unofficial warnings" to provide these businesses time to transition to other straw options, like hay, paper or reusable. Zachary Rybarczyk, a member of the DOEE enforcement team says that the reusable straws are popular in bars and the hay straws "hold up well in drinks."
This marks the city's second attempt at removing the single-usage straws as they attempted back in 2014 but was never fully enforced.
Top Photo: Getty