Progress on plastic reduction in Texas

Despite Texas’s preemption on plastic bans Austin’s City Council has taken steps to reduce plastic waste. The Council recently approved a resolution to work with the Texas Restaurant Association to educate restaurants on reducing plastic and having biodegradable alternatives for single-use items. This strategy includes working with “restaurants, bars, and other commercial food or beverage establishments” to “discourage establishments from providing plastic utensils, straws, stirrers, single-use condiments, and other single-use plastic items unless the items are specifically requested by the customer.” 

This resolution would not immediately ban plastics, and restaurants would not have to participate in this reduction,. The resolution also plans to track the progress of plastic reduction to see if they need to take more steps in the future such as banning single-use water and soft drink bottles, which means the resolution can strengthen over time. This is a small step, however, it helps build the momentum for more legislation on plastic reduction. 

View the resolution here.