Detroit cannot require restaurants to provide plastic straws on request only or ban them outright. MCL §445.594c preempts local regulation of single-use cups, lids, straws, and related items, leaving the choice to each operator.
MCL §445.594c blocks Detroit and other Michigan municipalities from regulating disposable food service items, including straws and stirrers, through fees, bans, or by-request-only rules common in California cities. Some Detroit restaurants voluntarily offer paper or compostable straws or have moved to a request-only model, but they do so at their discretion. Detroit's Sustainability Action Agenda highlights waste reduction goals but recognizes the preemption barrier. The Americans with Disabilities Act remains relevant: even where straw-on-request rules exist elsewhere, plastic flexible straws must be available for customers with disabilities. In Detroit, ADA principles still apply to all food service settings regardless of which type of straw the restaurant chooses.
There is no Detroit penalty for offering or withholding plastic straws. Restaurants that fail to accommodate disabilities by refusing straws to customers who need them risk Title III ADA complaints rather than city citations.
Detroit, MI
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Detroit, MI
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See how Detroit's plastic straw rules rules stack up against other locations.
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