A new California law will ban plastic straws in restaurants, but many establishments in West Marin have beat it to the punch. Starting in 2019, straws will only be distributed on request in the state, the first in the United States to ban restaurants from voluntarily handing out plastic straws. Full-service restaurants will be bearing the brunt of the law, as fast-food restaurants, delicatessens and coffee shops will be exempt. In his signing message, Governor Jerry Brown said the law was an important environmental step. “Plastics, in all forms—straws, bottles, packaging, bags, etc.—are choking our planet,” he wrote. When environmentally minded fourth-graders Viola Seda and Reese Patton began a campaign to encourage businesses in West Marin to stop using plastic straws last summer, they discovered that a number of establishments had already switched to compostable or paper straws in recent years. Christian Caiazzo, owner of Toby’s Coffee Bar, has carried compostable straws since the beginning of the year. He said that while some out-of-towners wanted “something they’re used to,” he has found that “most people who come to Point Reyes are looking to us to be progressive [and have] environmental policies, so they adjust pretty quickly.” When Samantha Sachs first opened Pump Espresso Bar in Forest Knolls three years ago, she started off stocking compostable straws. But over the last six months she has turned to paper instead. “The truth about compostable plastics is even facilities made for that can only take so much,” she said. “People tend to complain a tiny bit about paper because it softens, but I think that just means it’s doing its job—for the most part, people are happy about it.” But sustainability can be hard to source, and doesn’t come cheap. “When it comes to plastic, you’re talking about a penny, whereas when it comes to paper you’re talking five,” Ms. Sachs said. She hopes the new state ban will bring about a greater demand for—and thus a greater supply of—paper straws. Other West Marin restaurants where the new law will likely apply—Side Street Kitchen, the Station House Café and Hog Island Oyster Company, for instance—have already stopped carrying plastic straws. John Finger, co-owner of Hog Island Oyster Company, said that although the law may govern his restaurants in San Francisco or Napa, the business has been using paper straws since 2014 and only issues straws on request. And in San Francisco, Hog Island is starting to experiment with hay straws. “Plastic is a great material, lasts forever, but using it for single use doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Mr. Finger said. At Side Street Kitchen, paper straws are available upon request only, said Sheryl Cahill, who owns both Side Street and the Station House Café. At the Station House, which has a full bar, straws are offered more freely, but they are compostable, not plastic. “It’s a retraining of the public and their needs as much as it of businesses,” she said. “Anything that’s so deeply inculturated takes time.” She was concerned, however, that there were so many businesses exempt from the straw ban. “Let’s hope they get to that part soon,” she added. Richard James, who runs the local environmental blog The Coastodian, agreed. He said most of the straws he finds during his beach clean-ups belong to McDonalds or Starbucks (which this summer announced that by 2020 it would stop serving plastic straws). Still, said Mr. James, the new law is a start. “Maybe we can get people thinking on a bigger scale,” he said. “People will say, ‘Who cares about straws?’ But you know what? It all matters.”