Malibu Bans Single-Use Plastic!

 Malibu City Council Passes Historic Ban on Single-Use Plastic Straws, Stirrers and Cutlery to Reduce Plastic Pollution!

The Malibu City Council voted to prohibit the sale, distribution and use of single-use plastic straws, plastic stirrers and plastic cutlery within the City. It will go into effect on June 1, 2018. It will impact the seaside town's roughly 65 restaurants and food vendors.

“Malibu is a leader in environmental protections, and we’ve made great progress in addressing plastic pollution, including bans on plastic bags, plastic sandbags, and polystyrene foam,” Mayor Rick Mullen said. “The ocean, beaches, and natural surroundings are a central part of life in Malibu, and we are absolutely committed to keeping them clean for ourselves, our children, and their children in the future.”

The ordinance is part of the City’s campaign to eliminate the use of all kinds of single-use plastic items in order to reduce the plastic pollution that has become pervasive and devastating to the environment.  In California, the annual “Coastal Cleanup Day” has tracked the amount of trash collected since 1992, and plastic straws and stirrers are the sixth most common item collected. Plastic cutlery is the fifth most common item collected.

"This is a community based on its ocean and beaches and we want to protect those. Individual cities have to decide how they're going to protect the earth. We've got to start somewhere. If we can start locally, that's the best place to start." said Craig George, the city's environmental sustainability director.

As we all know plastic straws, and cutlery never biodegrade. The plastic is broken down into smaller pieces that become impossible to remove from the environment. Nearly all plastic, regardless of whether it has been recycled, still exists. It is estimated that there are over five trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean. 

Get ahead of the trend and purchase your own glass straw so you don't have to go without. We recommend our To-Go-Ware Utensil Kitso you have all your cutlery and straw with you!

Visit www.MalibuCity.org/plastic for more information on the ban. 

Congrats Malibu!! Keep Up The Good Fight!