Division 7. Non-Compostable Straws and Stirrers

The County Council adopted the Prince George's County FY 2017-2026 Comprehensive Ten Year Solid Waste Management Plan on May 2, 2017.

The County Solid Waste goals set forth in the Plan are to: concentrate future growth, prioritize and focus resources, build on strengths and assets, create choice communities, connect neighborhoods and significant places and protect and value our natural resources. Recycling and re-use of materials are a significant part of the Plan.

There is a growing trend among local jurisdictions to ban or significantly reduce the use of non-compostable straws and stirrers as a measure towards more sound environmentally sustainable activities. Plastic straws are a component of roadside and marine litter. Plastic straws have a detrimental negative impact on the waterways and Oceans. Many of those end up in our streams and Oceans, polluting the water and killing marine life.

Various County watershed protection and environmental organizations have advocated for reducing or eliminating the use of non-compostable straws and stirrers to help address serious stream degradation in the County, including the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for trash in the Anacostia River.

The County Council of Prince George's County concludes that it is in the public interest to join in this effort by prohibiting the use of non-compostable straws and stirrers in Food Service or Retail businesses located in Prince George's County, under certain circumstances.

In this Division, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

Beginning on July 1, 2020, no Food Service business shall sell, distribute or otherwise provide a straw or stirrer with food or beverage unless the straw or stirrer is compostable.

Beginning on July 1, 2020, no Retail Business shall sell, distribute or otherwise provide a straw or stirrer directly to ultimate consumers unless the Retail Business also has available for sale a straw or stirrer that meets the home compostable standard.

The prohibited acts, as set forth in Section 19-152 of the County Code, shall not apply to pre-packaged beverages that have a plastic straw affixed during the pre-packaging process and received by the Food Service or Retail business with the plastic straw attached.

The prohibited acts, as set forth in Section 19-152 of the County Code, shall not apply to reusable straws made from metal, glass, bamboo, silicon, or rigid plastic.

The prohibited acts, as set forth in Section 19-152 of the County Code, shall not apply where it would interfere with accommodation of any individual's physical or medical needs. Each Food Service business shall keep a limited stock of plastic straws available to accommodate any individual's physical or medical needs and remain compliant with local, State, and Federal disability rights laws.

The Department shall conduct an education and outreach campaign before and during implementation of the provisions of this Division. This campaign should include:

The Department shall collaborate with organizations in the disability community to inform community members of their right to request a single-use plastic straw in accordance with Section 19-153(c).

The Director shall be charged with the enforcement of this Division. The Director shall not issue fines prior to January 1, 2021.

The Director may enforce the provisions of this Division through injunctive proceedings, an action for specific performance, or any other appropriate proceeding. The Department may partner with inspectors of other departments to address violations, as determined in this Division. No person or entity shall willfully violate any provision of this Division. Any person who owns, operates, or manages a Food Service or Retail business and who knowingly and willfully violates the provisions of this Division is subject to a civil fine. There is established a graduated civil fine structure for violations of this Division. The violation of any such prohibited or unlawful act or offense shall be punished with a warning for a first-time violation, $250 fine for a second time violation, and by a fine of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) for a third time violation within a twelve-month period. Each day a violation exists is a separate offense.

A Court of competent jurisdiction may impose these civil fines and the suspension of a violator's use and occupancy permit, as ancillary relief in the injunctive proceedings or as damages in separate civil proceedings.

Funds generated to Prince George's County from the imposition of civil fines and/or civil penalties pursuant to this Section, shall be appropriated to the Prince George's County Department of the Environment, Resource Recovery Division, County Recycling Program.