Georgia
What’s the Story?
Bills about waste management and prohibiting distribution of polystyrene bags and items have been proposed/introduced to the Georgia senate, yet there’s no statewide bans for plastic straws or plastic bags. As of May 9, 2023, only the City of South Fulton has banned plastic bags, food service disposable containers and utensils composed of polystyrene foam.
South Fulton was the first Georgia city to ban single-use plastic with Ordinance ORD2019-027. The legislation was approved in October 2019, and became effective on March 1st, 2021.
Following suit, Atlanta City Council approved a ban of non-compostable serviceware at city-owned buildings, including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport in the world. Ordinance 19-O-1418 was approved on December 2019. The law prohibits the city or its contractors from purchasing, acquiring, or making available to the public non-compostable single-use serviceware, such as plastic bags, polystyrene (i.e., Styrofoam), and plastic straws.
How Does the Ban Affect Me?
When it passed in 2020 it was mainly for educational purposes, it wasn’t enforceable. Currently, the bill is enforced with new fees and other penalties.
The items prohibited by the South Fulton ordinance include plastic cups and straws, food containers, as well as grocery and other wrapping plastic bags for newspaper, laundry, dry-cleaning, etc.
The ordinance applies to any corporation, food, beverages, partnership, business venture, public sports or entertainment facilities, government agency, street vendor or vendor at public events or festivals, organizations that sell or provide merchandise and services of any kind directly to a customer.
Examples of entities liable for distributing plastic straws or cutlery include restaurants, food vending trucks, farmers markets and temporary food and merchandise vendors at street fairs and festivals.
How Can I Stay Compliant?
The city's ordinance targets wasteful plastic items and requires all retail businesses to provide reusable bags or charge at a minimum 10 cents per bag, and to hand out bags and containers that are compostable, recyclable or made with recycled materials. You can lead by example by handing out compostable straws or cutlery to your customers. HAY! Straws® made from Wheat stems are among the most natural and affordable alternatives that offer an experience similar to single-use plastic. Request SAMPLES for your business.
Complying with ORD2019-027 is about getting used to a new procedure. You’ll need to prepare your staff members to break the habit of handing out plastic straws to every customer. When the new procedure is in place, fines start in April of 2024 at $50 for the first offense, $100 for the second, and $500 for the third within a 12-month period.
Don't know what to buy?
Checkout out our product GUIDE with straw dimensions and sizes. Wholesale favorites for bars and restaurants are the standard Tall 7.75" straws - Full Case (3000 straws)—wrapped and unwrapped, the wide 5-7mm DIA Jumbo 8" straws - Full Case (1500 straws) for thicker drinks like Bloody Mary's or smoothies, our disposable Bamboo Cutlery, and the Original Hay Cocktail 5" straws - Full Case (3000 straws).
Make the switch to HAY! Straws' Plant-Based disposables now. Request samples and buy HAY! WHOLESALE today.
Why Are HAY! Straws® a Great Choice?
