Berkeley edges toward banning plastic straws to protect wildlife, environment

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ByJonathan Bloom KGO logo
Friday, June 9, 2017
Berkeley edges toward banning plastic straws to protect wildlife, environment
The City of Berkeley is taking another step Thursday night toward banning straws over environmental concerns.

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- The City of Berkeley is taking another step Thursday night toward banning straws over environmental concerns.

RELATED: Viral sea turtle video fuels campaign against plastic straws

Even though straws are small, they can create serious environmental problems, so now a growing number of activists say it's time to just say no.

Four years ago, Saul's Deli in Berkeley began using straws made of stainless steal instead of plastic.

They're classy for sure, but the change came from something bigger.

"1K straws a say was 365K straws a year," Said Saul's General Manager Peter Levitt. "Why are we putting these in the landfill."

That's a question asked a lot in Berkeley, whether disposable plastic straws should even be legal.

Watch the video in the player above for the full story.