Yonkers, NY Single-Use Items: Plastic Straw Rules (2026)

Chapter 37, adopted in November 2019, applies to any covered establishment engaged in retail sale or distribution of beverages and prepared food, a definition broad enough to reach restaurants, bars, delis, drug stores, grocery stores, gas stations, catering halls, food trucks and street vendors. Section 37-3 states the operative rule plainly: covered establishments shall only provide plastic straws upon request to customers, and the City commits to giving those establishments guidance and signage explaining that straws are available on request. Section 37-4 carves out two exemptions: straws sold at retail to a consumer who claims a medical necessity, disability or impairment limiting their ability to drink without a straw, and off-the-shelf retail beverage items such as juice boxes that already arrive from the manufacturer with a straw attached.

Section 37-2 defines a single-use plastic straw as a disposable tube made predominantly of petroleum- or plant-based plastic, expressly excluding straws made of paper, pasta, sugar cane, wood or bamboo, or any straw marketed for reuse, so those alternatives fall outside the ordinance entirely. Enforcement runs through the City of Yonkers Consumer Protection Bureau, which investigates potential violations following a complaint before any penalty is imposed. The Council's stated purpose in § 37-1 is to cut down on nonbiodegradable, petroleum-based plastics that persist in landfills for hundreds of years and burden the City's cleanup and waste budgets.