SECTION 1. Chapter 140 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 6B, the following section:-

Section 6C: (a) As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“Biodegradable materials”, materials that can be fully decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms without causing harm to the environment.

“Consumer”, a person receiving food or beverages from a food service establishment.

“Department”, the department of environmental protection.

“Food service establishment”, an operation that stores, prepares, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption, including but not limited to full-service restaurants, food trucks, self-service food establishments, convenience stores, and fast-food establishments.

“Reusable Straw”, a tube used to transfer a beverage from a container to the mouth of the person drinking the beverage, made of materials that can be adequately sanitized for consumer reuse, including, but not limited to, stainless steel, glass, acrylic, and silicone.

“Single-use plastic straw”, a single-use, disposable tube made predominantly of plastic derived from petroleum-based polymers or non-biodegradable biological polymers used to transfer a beverage from a container to the mouth of the person drinking the beverage. A single-use plastic straw does not include (i) a reusable drinking straw or (ii) a straw made of non-plastic or biodegradable materials including, but not limited to, paper, pasta, sugar cane, wood, or bamboo.

(b) A food service establishment shall not provide a single-use plastic straw to a customer unless requested by the customer.

(c) The department shall promulgate regulations with regard to the enforcement of this chapter.

SECTION 2. Section 1 shall take effect 1 year after passage of this act.