Op-Ed: Let’s Ban Plastic Straws in Yonkers
By Yonkers City Council President Mike Khader
In recent weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about the environment and what we can do to combat climate change and reduce Yonkers’ carbon footprint. This started when my daughter asked me if I knew how long it takes for plastic to break down – 450 years – something that spurred me to stop giving out plastic water bottles at events, and now, I’m taking the next step.
The result is legislation I introduced that will help our city make lasting, sustainable changes, without affecting our residents’ quality of life or being overly burdensome to businesses.
“Plastic-Free Yonkers” requires food service establishments and covered stores in the city to provide alternatives to plastic straws, while still allowing customers with a valid reason to request one. Single-use plastics, like straws, are one of the biggest polluters of the environment and contributors to climate change. This law will also complement next year’s plastic bag ban passed earlier this year by lawmakers in Albany. We’re also looking at opting into a state measure that will charge most customers who want a paper bag, to be used toward environmental conservation and recycling efforts in the city.
Climate change is happening far faster than originally thought and its effects are growing worse every year. Unless we act, we’re knowingly jeopardizing our children’s futures. I hope you will join me in making “Plastic Free Yonkers” a reality.
As always, feel free to reach out to my office with any suggestions or concerns about how we can help to improve the quality of life of those who call Yonkers home. My office can be reached at 914-377-6060 or councilpresident@yonkersny.gov.
Editor’s Note: In the Aug. 23 issue of Yonkers Rising, we ran a story criticizing the reelection campaign of President Donald Trump for selling “Trump plastic straws” as an alternative to what they call “paper straws that don’t work.”
“People don’t like being told they can’t do simple things, and so the Trump straws were born, ”said Trump 2020 Communications Director Tim Murtagh. As someone who consumes a lot of fast food with plastic straws for my drinks, I would agree that plastic straws are the easiest to use, but in today’s climate crisis, and with the next generation of Americans – like my daughter – buying a metal straw to use throughout their day, the efforts and ideas of Council President Mike Khader, to at least highlight the issue and try to get people to use another style straw to save the environment, is appreciated.
