Fans of the Crow鈥檚 Nest in Maplewood lit up the restaurant鈥檚 Facebook page in March when its owners announced on the site that staff would provide plastic straws only if customers requested them.
The announcement drew a generally positive response, and elicited reactions from 500 people, with 150 shares 鈥 meaning thousands of people likely saw the news. Other nearby restaurants soon followed suit, said Eliza Coriell, who co-owns the Crow鈥檚 Nest with Kenny Snarzyk.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 put them in every drink automatically,鈥 Coriell explained. 鈥淏ut we have them. I know a lot of people like to stir their drinks with them, people with disabilities sometimes have an easier time drinking with them, and some people just like them. But, we felt like the amount of waste we were producing was problematic.鈥
The restaurant owners undertook the initiative themselves 鈥 with buzz ultimately proving beneficial to their business 鈥 but legislation floated in the Missouri Capitol would forbid cities and counties from forcing restaurants and grocers to implement similar policies, just as governments worldwide are beginning to crack down on easy access to single-use materials, which end up in landfills and waterways.
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Environmental campaigners have been calling for curbs on throwaway plastic that鈥檚 accumulating in the oceans because, unlike organic materials, it doesn鈥檛 decompose but simply breaks down into ever smaller pieces.
Scientific studies have found minuscule particles known as microplastics are being consumed by animals throughout the food chain, though the impact on human health is unclear.
鈥淲hen we have a situation where one year you can bring your fish home in a plastic bag, and the next year you are bringing that bag home in a fish, we have to work hard and work fast,鈥 said Karmenu Vella, the European commissioner for environment, maritime affairs and fisheries.
The 28-nation European Union last week moved closer to banning single-use straws, cutlery and cotton swabs amid intensifying concerns over ocean pollution. California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, requiring full-service restaurants to provide plastic straws only upon request.
State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, the Missouri bill sponsor and director of the , said he has no problem with business owners cutting back on wasteful materials, but he said he does not believe the government should mandate restrictions.
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e seen throughout the country is a continued attack on business being able to take care of consumers the way consumers want,鈥 said Shaul, who added that any movement toward a more biodegradable future should be consumer-driven.
鈥淚t (the bill) will not impede a business from making a decision that鈥檚 in their best interest or meets their business model,鈥 Shaul said. 鈥淲e think it should be their decision.鈥
Shaul鈥檚 legislation, if signed into law, would mark an expansion of current Missouri law, which forbids localities from restricting single-use plastic bags through bans or taxes.
Shaul in 2015 sponsored that measure as Columbia was considering rules on single-use plastic bags. The legislation was folded into a , which also banned local minimum wage increases. Then-Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, vetoed the measure, but Republican lawmakers overrode him later that year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 become quite apparent that representatives on the Republican side want to support local control when it comes to things like 鈥榬ight to work鈥,鈥 said state Rep. Gina Mitten, D-Richmond Heights, referring to a to enact the ill-fated law county by county, 鈥渂ut abhor it when it comes to things like public schools or minimum wage.鈥
Laura Nauser, a former Columbia city councilwoman and a Republican, opposed Columbia鈥檚 planned restrictions on plastic bags in 2015. But she also opposed state pre-emption, saying local governments should have the ability to govern themselves.
鈥淟et the local council make the decision, and if it turns out to be a bad one, it鈥檚 a lot easier to reverse it at the local level than it would be if there was a problem 鈥 or a poor law 鈥 (that needed to be) reversed at the state or federal level,鈥 she said.
Shaul鈥檚 new legislation, filed in advance of the coming legislative session, expands the definition of items that may not be banned to include any 鈥渁uxiliary container鈥 鈥 any bag, cup, package, container, bottle, or other packaging 鈥 designed for, but not limited to, 鈥渃onsuming, transporting, or protecting merchandise, food, or beverages from, or at, a food service facility or retail facility.
鈥(N)o political subdivision shall restrict, tax, prohibit, or issue any ordinance regulating the use, disposition, or sale of auxiliary containers,鈥 the one-page bill states.
Coriell, whose restaurant was once described as a cross between a tavern and a gastropub, has varying opinions on whether localities should be able to regulate items. She said it depends on the product. Coriell said she would be open to restrictions on items such as foam containers, but more skeptical of bans on plastic bags or straws.
鈥淚鈥檓 not opposed to municipalities having the ability to ban certain things,鈥 Coriell said. 鈥淎nd whether or not I would support (state) legislation one way or the other would depend on which things they (cities) were trying to ban.鈥
Coriell said she thinks foam to-go containers should be regulated because there are 鈥渃heap鈥 substitutes that are biodegradable.
But, she does not think an all-out ban on straws is warranted. The Crow鈥檚 Nest uses plastic bags for to-go orders, but only because plastic bags are recyclable.
鈥淪ince they鈥檙e recyclable I don鈥檛 know that we need a mass rule,鈥 Coriell said. On the other hand, she said, 鈥淪tyrofoam, I think we鈥檝e outgrown it as a society and there are other cheap alternatives that we could be using.鈥
She said that some restaurants followed her restaurant鈥檚 lead after it implemented its new straw policy. The restaurant also belongs to the , which provides information on best environmental practices for restaurants. But many other restaurants have not changed their practices.
If the government did regulate foam containers, Coriell said, more businesses would buy recyclable alternatives, lowering the price.
The legislation is .
The Associated Press contributed to this report.