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.
See how Williamsport's plastic straw rules rules stack up against other locations.
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