Seattle became the first major U.S city to ban plastic utensils and straws. This ban is part of a 2008 ordinance that banned all disposable, on-time-use food service items that are either not compostable or recyclable.

The city at the time however made an exception for utensils and straws, since other options were a complicated procedure at the time. Today however, any business that does not follow the rules of the ban can be fined a hefty $250.

An entire 150 million metric tons of plastic has been dumped into the marine environments of the earth by humans, and it only grows every year by a shocking 8 million metric tons. Plastic is ruining our planet, and action needs to be taken.

Seattle is not alone in the efforts, with several American companies who have also taken action and have stopped using plastic such as Alaska Airlines and Bon Appétit.

Now that a large U.S city has decided to put an end to this, hopefully it will inspire the rest of the country, and then eventually the world to follow their example.  Let’s help preserve our earth in any way we possibly can.