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Last year we celebrated as New Jersey passed into law one of the strongest bans on single-use disposables in the country (P.L. 2020, c. 117). We've been counting down the days until the law goes into effect. On November 4, the "straws by request" provision went live. Under these requirements, food service businesses will only offer single-use plastic straws to customers if they specifically request one.

While this might seem like a very minor change, "straws by request" policies can drastically reduce the number of straws used and thrown out. For example, one restaurant that participated in a

Every day in the U.S., people use 500 million straws a day - enough to circle to planet more than two-and-a-half times! Straws are now one of the top 10 marine debris items found on our beaches. And by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean.

So, what do we do about it?

An easy step is to simply not use straws. When ordering your drink at an establishment, simply say, "no straw please, thank you," at the end of your order and encourage your friends and family to do the same. If you really love straws, you can bring your own reusable stainless steel straw, which are available at

Clean Water Action was honored to join over 200,000 people at the People's Climate Movement in Washington DC. Our New Jersey team joined NJ Sierra Club and Bus for Progress in hosting several buses that made the trip from New Jersey to Washington DC. We met so many energized folks, people from every race and age group, who came from all over the country for this one day movement to demand action for climate change and water change. Here are some of our favorite stories and photos from the day!