Philadelphia Code section 9-209 makes the city straws-on-request, barring food and beverage vendors from automatically providing plastic straws and stirrers. Disability accommodations remain protected, and compostable alternatives are encouraged citywide.
Philadelphia Code section 9-209 bars restaurants, fast-food outlets, coffee shops, food trucks, and beverage retailers from placing plastic straws or stirrers at self-service stations or handing them out automatically with drinks. Vendors may provide a single straw if the customer asks, and the city encourages compostable, paper, or reusable alternatives. Persons with disabilities must be accommodated upon request without burden or interrogation. The rule complements the broader plastic-bag and foam ban under section 9-209 and is enforced by the Department of Public Health and Streets Department, beginning with warnings before civil fines. Pennsylvania has not preempted local straw rules.
Auto-distributing plastic straws or stirrers violates Philadelphia Code section 9-209, triggering a written warning, then administrative fines up to three hundred dollars per day per location for repeats.
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Philadelphia, PA
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Philadelphia, PA
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Philadelphia, PA
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