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Poll results

Call this a straw poll.

On Monday, the Portland City Council was scheduled to take up a proposed ordinance banning plastic beverage straws, and may vote formally on the measure Oct. 21. If it's enacted, plastic straws, stirrers and splash sticks would only be available by request at Portland food businesses — and then would be outlawed entirely in 2020.

The ban is part of a nationwide trend to reduce plastic pollution, much of which makes its way to the ocean and threatens marine life. Cities including Seattle and Washington, D.C., have recently passed similar bans.

Does a ban on plastic beverage straws make sense for your community?
Yes, every Maine city and town has a duty to reduce unnecessary pollution. (49%, 58 VOTES)
No, a ban isn't practical, would have little impact, and isn't fair to businesses that use straws. (34%, 40 VOTES)
Can't say; the goal is a good one, but a ban goes too far. (17%, 20 VOTES)
Not applicable; my community doesn't use many straws. (1%, 1 VOTES)
Poll Description

Call this a straw poll.

On Monday, the Portland City Council was scheduled to take up a proposed ordinance banning plastic beverage straws, and may vote formally on the measure Oct. 21. If it's enacted, plastic straws, stirrers and splash sticks would only be available by request at Portland food businesses — and then would be outlawed entirely in 2020.

The ban is part of a nationwide trend to reduce plastic pollution, much of which makes its way to the ocean and threatens marine life. Cities including Seattle and Washington, D.C., have recently passed similar bans.

  • 119 Votes
  • 3 Comments
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3 Comments

  • October 10, 2019
    Straws and stirrers used in a sit-down restaurant don't land in the street or in the bay. Takeout drinks at convenience stores and fast food joints do. Banning them for takeout would make more sense, but why not just bust people for littering in the first place?
  • Leah Batt
    October 9, 2019

    Straw bans negatively and disproportionately affect the disabled members of our community. While reusable straws and redesigned cups may be a great solution for most people, they are not an option for many people with disabilities. Cups designed to be used without a straw require the cup to be lifted by the user, which many people cannot do. and there is currently no suitable alternative to the plastic straw for many disabled individuals. In short, banning plastic straws reduces accessibility and can unintentionally demonized the disabled for meeting their basic needs.

  • October 9, 2019

    I can't believe that anyone anywhere thinks that plastic straws are "the one issue to tackle" in the ongoing saga of what the population does to destroy the environment on a daily basis. Instead of looking at the straws why not look at the cup that the beverages are served in since 99.99% of that single use disposable item is plastic and takes up space in landfills never to decompose. The bigger issue is that we are accustomed to disposable items that never existed 40 or 50 years ago before the age of plastic. Most soft drinks were either served in glass bottles that you had to return for reuse or in wax covered paper cups that at least would breakdown over time and not create the issue with recycling or inappropriate disposal that we have today. Plastic is forever and could take 1000's of years to decompose in landfills if at all, yet we can't seem to wean ourselves from this petrochemical legacy.