Pennsylvania has no statewide ban or upon-request rule for plastic straws, and following the lapse of single-use plastic preemption in 2024 cities may again adopt straw-on-request or ban policies.
Pennsylvania has not enacted a statewide ban on plastic drinking straws or a statewide upon-request requirement for food-service establishments. The 2020 to 2024 statutory moratorium on local single-use plastic ordinances limited municipal action; that preemption ended with Act 87 of 2024. Philadelphia's plastic straw upon-request rule and similar local ordinances are now clearly enforceable, and other municipalities are free to adopt comparable rules. There is no state agency administering a straw-specific program, and food-service establishments outside cities with their own rules face no straw-specific obligations under state law.
Where local ordinances apply, fines are typically issued by city code enforcement; no state penalty exists.
Reading, PA
Reading enforces residential quiet hours between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM under Chapter 396 of the city code. During these hours, no person may make or permit no...
Reading, PA
Reading regulates on-street parking through Chapter 576, with metered zones downtown and Residential Permit Parking (RPP) districts in dense neighborhoods. V...
Reading, PA
Reading limits residential fence height to 4 feet in the front yard and 6 feet in side and rear yards under the city's zoning ordinance. Fences taller than 6...
Reading, PA
Reading requires all dogs off their owner's property to be on a leash and under the control of a person able to manage them. The local rule is reinforced by ...
Reading, PA
Reading follows Pennsylvania Act 43 of 2017, which permits consumer-grade fireworks for adults 18+ but bans discharge within 150 feet of any occupied structu...
Reading, PA
Reading limits grass and weed height on residential and vacant properties to 8 inches under the city's property maintenance code. Owners who fail to mow afte...
See how Reading's plastic straw rules rules stack up against other locations.
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