From November 24, the government banned single-use merchandise with a yearlong grace period. By next year, convenience stores and bakeries are banned from providing single-use plastic bags and cafes are no longer allowed to provide paper cups within stores, plastic straws and coffee stir sticks. 

With the new change, cafes on campus are still adjusting to the new policy. Currently most cafes including Gracie (E4), Droptop (W6), Café Ogada(E9), Smoothie king (W1), and Caffe Pascucci (E3) are only allowing plastic cups for take outs. Dine-in customers are provided drinks in multi-use cups. Café Dream (N7) only provides drinks in single-use plastic cups unless customers request in their own tumbler because the café does not have a sitting area. 

Unfortunately, plastic straws are still in use except for Droptop (W6) who are using paper straws. Progress is being made for Caffe Pascucci (E3) and Gracie (E4) as they placed orders for paper straws and will replace plastic straws once all their plastic straw stocks are used. The school’s bakery, California (E6), gives out take-outs in paper bags and plastic cups and straws for drinks. 

During one of the café interviews, the interviewee appealed that there should be countermeasures from the government such as subsidizing paper straws since they are much more expensive than plastic straws, buy plastic straws stocks from individual café, or obligating customers to carry tumblers.