What's happening
This bill prohibits restaurants in New York from providing single-use plastic straws unless requested, and bans plastic stirrers entirely.
Why it matters
Reduces plastic waste at the source by limiting automatic distribution of single-use plastic straws. this targets a major source of everyday plastic pollution, addressing environmental concerns about plastic entering landfills and waterways.
Prevents discrimination or discomfort for people with disabilities or specific needs. , since it expressly forbids restaurants from questioning why a customer requests a straw, protecting privacy and dignity.
Encourages the shift to eco-friendly alternatives. by allowing and promoting non-plastic and compostable straws and stirrers, and requiring compostable options to be paired with proper composting infrastructure—this could stimulate market demand for sustainable products and services.
Imposes escalating penalties for non-compliance but provides a one-year grace period with warnings and education first. , aiming to give restaurants time to adapt while ensuring eventual enforcement, which may affect small businesses’ operations and costs.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Limit Plastic Straws, Stirrers
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
25 Co-sponsors
- Donna Lupardo
- Deborah Glick
- Al Taylor
- Rebecca Seawright
- Jo Anne Simon
- Didi Barrett
- Harry B. Bronson
- Phil Steck
- David Weprin
- Philip Ramos
- Karines Reyes
- Harvey Epstein
- Amy Paulin
- William Colton
- Jonathan Jacobson
- Steven Otis
- Karen McMahon
- Chris Burdick
- Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas
- Stefani Zinerman
- Andrew Hevesi
- Anna Kelles
- MaryJane Shimsky
- Keith Brown
- Michael Novakhov
History
- Referred to environmental conservation
- Referred to environmental conservation
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
602
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, LUPARDO, GLICK, TAYLOR, SEAWRIGHT, SIMON, BARRETT, BRONSON, STECK, WEPRIN, RAMOS, REYES, EPSTEIN, PAULIN, COLTON, JACOBSON, OTIS, McMAHON, BURDICK, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, ZINERMAN, HEVESI, KELLES, SHIMSKY, K. BROWN, NOVAKHOV -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law and the general business law, in relation to prohibitions on single-use plastic straws and stirrers in restaurants
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Article 27 of the environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new title 34 to read as follows:
TITLE 34
PLASTIC STRAW AND STIRRER RESTRICTIONS Section 27-3401. Definitions.
27-3403. Single-use plastic straws and stirrers.
27-3405. Enforcement. § 27-3401. Definitions.
For the purposes of this title, "restaurant" means any diner or other eating or beverage establishment, which offers for sale food or beverages to the public, guests, members, or patrons, whether consumption occurs on or off the premises. § 27-3403. Single-use plastic straws and stirrers.
1. (a) Restaurants may not provide single-use plastic straws unless explicitly requested by the customer.
(b) No inquiry into the reason for the request shall be made by a restaurant or any of its employees in carrying out the request authorized by paragraph (a) of this subdivision.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02014-01-5
2. Restaurants are prohibited from providing customers with single-use plastic stirrers.
3. (a) Nothing in this section shall preclude a restaurant from providing customers with non-plastic straws or stirrers as an alternative to single-use plastic straws and stirrers, including, but not limited to, straws and/or stirrers made from paper, sugar cane, bamboo or compostable materials.
(b) Restaurants that provide compostable straws or stirrers to customers are required to have access to curbside collection of food waste for composting.
4. Single-use plastic straws provided by a restaurant, pursuant to subdivision one of this section, shall not be individually wrapped in plastic, except for prepackaged individual serving beverages where a plastic straw is included in the packaging. § 27-3405. Enforcement.
Every local department of health shall ensure compliance with this title as part of an inspection of a food place pursuant to section thirteen hundred fifty-one of the public health law, the provisions of the sanitary code and provisions of local ordinances or regulations. Any establishment that violates this title shall be liable for a civil penalty in the amount of two hundred dollars for the first violation, three hundred dollars for the second violation committed on a different day within a period of twelve months, and five hundred dollars for the third and each subsequent violation committed on different days within a period of twelve months, except that the local department of health shall not issue a notice of violation, but shall issue a warning and provide information on compliance with such section, for any violation that occurs within one year of the effective date of this section.
§ 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 399- tt to read as follows:
§ 399-tt. Single-use plastic straws. Restaurants may only provide single-use plastic straws to customers where explicitly requested by the customer pursuant to title thirty-four of article twenty-seven of the environmental conservation law.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.