Customers at Los Angeles restaurants will only get plastic utensils and napkins if they ask for them, under a new ordinance taking effect Monday that aims to reduce waste, the AP reports. The rule requires all restaurants with more than 26 employees to remove all single-use plastic utensil dispensers, the Los Angeles Times reported. Businesses must also stop including plastic utensils and napkins with takeout orders or for dine-in meals unless a customer specifically asks for them. Enforcement won't begin until January. By April 2022, the law will be expanded to include all food and beverage facilities of any size, Fox 11 reports.
Over 32,000 mailers were sent out earlier this year to update restaurants on the new rules. The letters were printed in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and English. The City Council passed the ordinance last April. The city of Malibu set the plastic-ban standard in 2008 when it phased out plastic shopping bags, then a decade later cracked down on single-use plastics. The cities of Davis and San Luis Obispo have similar laws, according to the Times. Per KNX 1070, estimates suggest the law could save restaurants $21,000 annually. Some commenters on Twitter were less than impressed. "LA doing everything but fixing its homeless problem," said one.
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