ARS Section 11-269.18 preempts Mesa from banning or restricting plastic straws as auxiliary containers. Restaurants may freely offer plastic straws, though many voluntarily switched to paper or upon-request models.
Arizona's 2015 auxiliary container preemption (ARS 11-269.18) covers single-use straws, stirrers, lids, and utensils alongside bags and foam. Mesa cannot adopt straw-on-request laws like California's AB 1884 or outright bans like Seattle's. Restaurants may decide voluntarily to default to paper straws or only on request, but the city cannot mandate it. The preemption does not block ADA accommodations: federal disability law still requires reasonable accommodation, so any voluntary policy must allow plastic straws for customers who need them. Mesa's solid waste accepts plastic straws only as trash; they are too small for sortation in single-stream recycling.
Mesa cannot fine restaurants for offering plastic straws. Only ADA noncompliance with disability accommodation needs poses federal exposure for voluntary corporate straw policies.
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