SAN FRANCISCO, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A group of environmental advocates Monday rallied in front of San Francisco City Hall to support a proposed ordinance banning plastic straws and other single-use plastic disposable foodware.
The demonstrators, including some young boys and girls, held posters like "Skip The Straw, Save A Life", "Make It Law, Ban The Straw," and "Kids for Plastic-Free Oceans" to back the speakers at the rally, including the city's Supervisor Aaron Peskin who is one of the sponsors of the proposed bill.
The rally was held ahead of hearing on the proposed Plastic and Litter Reduction Ordinance to ban plastic straws in the major tourist city on the U.S. west coast.
San Francisco Department of the Environment (SF Environment), which is a strong supporter of the rally, expressed thanks to Supervisor Katy Tang, who introduced the bill in May to a meeting of the city's Board of Supervisors.
The bill, if endorsed by San Francisco Mayor, will take effect on July 1, 2019.
The ordinance aims to ban single-use plastic straws and other plastic foodware, and reduce litter on city streets, plastics in San Francisco Bay and toxics in foodware in order to meet the city's pursuit of zero waste.
"It is clear that we are just one domino of many other cities, in favor of getting rid of plastic straws," SF Environment tweeted Monday.
"Plastics and other single-use disposable items make no environmental or economic sense ... The current recycling crisis should help us make a path toward ending our throwaway culture," it said.
A 2011 study by Clean Water Action found that takeout food and beverage packaging "comprises the most significant type of trash on Bay Area streets," accounting for 67 percent of all street trash by volume, such as plastic straws, cups, cutlery, and other wastes.
In San Francisco alone, it is estimated that 1 million straws are used every day, and at current projections, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050, SF Environment said in a statement in May.
Environmental advocates said the campaign against plastic straws in San Francisco would inch the city closer to its ambitious goal of becoming a "zero-waste" city by 2020, when no trash would be sent to landfills or incinerators.
San Francisco is the latest city to join other U.S. cities to ban or restrict single-use plastic straws, including Alameda and Santa Cruz in California, and Seattle in Washington state.
