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New Jersey starts to enforce its first plastic ban this November. The ban prohibits the use of plastic straws in places that sell food.

You’ll no longer be able to get a plastic straw with any drink in New Jersey.

The state is trying to lower plastic pollution, so restaurants, coffee shops, convenience stores, and other places that sell food are only allowed to give out plastic straws when customers specifically request them.

According to WasteAdvantage Magazine, this is only the first among several measures that present the nation’s wide-ranging ban on disposable plastic products.

Next is the ban on carry-out plastic bags, which is scheduled to happen on May 4, 2022. Apart from plastic bags, plates, takeout cartons, and food containers made of Styrofoam will also be banned.

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“Straws are not going to disappear overnight from our sweeps,” said Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group. “It’s something that’s going to take time for both restaurants and customers, but we’ll have a healthier planet, healthier oceans and healthier people at the end of it.”

Thousands of volunteers in Clean Ocean Action do the beach cleanup every day, and according to them, plastic straws and stirrers are the most commonly found pieces of trash.

More than 10,000 plastic straws were picked up in only one day last year. This makes straws fifth on the list of trash collected on the stretch from Sandy Hook to Cape May.

Marina is passionate about sustainability and works to help ensure our planet stays as our home for a long time. She takes part in environmental conservation by recycling and not buying single-use plastic. When not writing, she can be found with her nose stuck in a book or trying out new baking recipes.

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