When state lawmakers attempt to ban single-use plastic products, the efforts don鈥檛 always go the way they thought. The General Assembly over the past five years has passed statewide bans on single-use plastic bags and plastic straws, in an attempt to curb litter and waste from heading to the landfill and to spur local businesses to adopt readily available alternatives.
The straw ban was particularly ineffective, with many businesses still handing out the plastic tubes in drinks more than a year after the ban became effective, and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), the enforcing state agency, rarely forcing compliance.
The state seems to have turned a corner with this year鈥檚 new bans, however. Thanks to legislation passed in 2023, Styrofoam takeout containers and plastic drink stirrers were banned from Rhode Island businesses as of Jan. 1.