If you’ve visited one of Austin’s iconic local spots lately­­—from Stubb’s to JuiceLand to Alamo Drafthouse to Tacodeli—you likely noticed you did not receive a plastic straw when you ordered your drink.

At some Austin businesses, plastic straws are available upon request. At others, they’ve been replaced by corn-based biodegradable products.

So where did this idea begin? In July, Seattle banned plastic straws and required city businesses to offer recyclable or compostable straws. A week later coffee giant Starbucks announced it would phase out plastic straws by 2020 at its 28,000 stores.

If we look to single-use plastic bag laws, it is clear that a straw ban is unlikely in Austin. The city is no longer enforcing its bag ban after the Texas Supreme Court struck down a similar law in Laredo. However, city leaders are encouraging businesses to refrain from offering single-use plastic bags.

Plastic bags in the grocery aisles and plastic straws in a drink are routine in most places. Here in Austin, our people and our businesses do things differently.