If you have plans to travel to Portland, Maine, you may want to pack a straw.
The city voted this week to ban plastic drinking straws to help reduce the amount of plastic pollution, the Portland Press Herald reported.
The ban will come in two phases.
First, starting in April, if someone wants a straw, then they have to ask for one.
Then in January 2021, there will be no plastic straws available, according to the Press Herald.
Each day, they estimate that there are 100,000 straws used in Portland. Environmental activists say 500 million straws are thrown away every day, or 175 billion each year.
And not only will straws eventually become a thing of the past, but so will single-use stirrers and splash sticks.
WCSH reported that those living in Portland may already be getting used to the ban before it goes into effect by using reusable straws and other traditional plastic products but made from corn or bamboo.
Portland is following the lead of cities like San Francisco, Seattle and Miami, the Press Herald reported.
This isn't the first time Portland officials have tried to help the environment by outlawing products. The city leaders have also banned single-use polystyrene cups and food containers and have required stores to charge a 5-cent fee for single-use plastic shopping bags, the Press Herald reported.
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
