8
Currents
February 2019
> continued from page 7
St. Petersburg is in rare company. Just a few
cities across the country have taken such a progres-
sive — or perhaps draconian, depending on one's
perspective - approach to regulating single-use plas-
tic straws.
"This is such a big victory for our city," said coun-
cil member Gina Driscoll, who championed the issue.
"It really shows that St. Pete is ready to lead the way
in environmental stewardship."
The ordinance passed after about 40 people
spent roughly two hours addressing council on this
issue. The 5-2 vote took place at about 10:30 p.m.
The ordinance will be rolled out in two phases:
For the first year, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2019, St.
Petersburg will be a straw-by-request-only city,
meaning restaurants and other places can only give
plastic straws to customers who ask for them. After
that first year, though, businesses will be prohibited
from offering plastic straws at all. That's the ban.
There are no penalties for violating the request-
only portion of the ordinance for the first three
months, so from Jan. 1 to March 31. Then, for the
remainder of the first year, the city will issue warn-
ings. The real enforcement starts Jan. 1, 2020, when
the ban kicks in. The first violation is a warning, the
second will result in a $40 fine, and all subsequent
violations within a year of the first violation will result
continued on page 9 >
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