Virginia Beach has no specific ordinance limiting plastic straws; restaurants may distribute them freely, though many resort-area businesses voluntarily switch to paper or compostable alternatives.
Neither Virginia state law nor Virginia Beach City Code restricts the distribution of single-use plastic straws or stirrers. Restaurants in the resort area and Town Center may offer plastic straws on request or by default. The city's Clean Community Commission and Resort Advisory Commission have encouraged voluntary alternatives such as paper, hay, or pasta straws, especially along the Atlantic Avenue boardwalk. Virginians with disabilities relying on flexible plastic straws are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act regardless of any future restrictions; Virginia Beach has not pursued a Dillon's Rule expansion to enable a local plastic straw ban.
There are no local penalties for distributing plastic straws in Virginia Beach, but littering straws on public beaches violates Virginia Beach Code Chapter 23 littering rules carrying fines up to $250.
See how Virginia Beach's plastic straw rules rules stack up against other locations.
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