Compostable Straws and Cutlery for San Francisco and the Bay Area

San Francisco bans plastic straws, including straws made from compostable, bio based, or plant based plastic such as PLA. That leaves paper and plant fiber. KGPeco bamboo fiber straws are plant fiber, BPI certified compostable, and they hold up in boba, iced coffee, and hot drinks where paper fails.

What San Francisco requires

San Francisco's Food Service and Packaging Waste Reduction rules, in Chapter 16 of the city's Environment Code, are among the strictest in the country. In summary:

• No plastic straws of any kind. Since 2019 the city has prohibited straws, stirrers, splash sticks, cocktail sticks, and toothpicks made with plastic, and that includes compostable, bio based, and plant based plastics. PLA straws are not an option in San Francisco.
• Disposable food service ware must be compostable or recyclable.
• Compostable food service ware must be free of fluorinated chemicals (PFAS). This took effect in 2020. KGPeco bamboo fiber straws and cutlery are PFAS free.

This page is a plain language summary, not legal advice. For the current text of the rules, check with SF Environment.

SFO concessions

San Francisco International Airport runs a Zero Waste Concessions Program. Single use food ware at SFO must be reusable or BPI certified compostable, and bamboo is named among the accepted utensil materials. KGPeco is listed with BPI (listing #10529008) and already supplies SFO concessions. See our guide for SFO airport concessions.

Why bamboo fiber instead of paper

With plastic and PLA off the table, most San Francisco operators end up choosing between paper and plant fiber. Paper is cheaper per straw, but it softens within minutes, can leave a papery taste, and fails in boba and thick drinks. Bamboo fiber stays firm for hours in cold and hot drinks and adds no taste. For drinks that sit, or for boba, the difference shows up in fewer remakes and fewer complaints. See the full bamboo fiber vs paper vs PLA vs PHA comparison.

Products for Bay Area businesses

• Wide boba straws: 12 mm, 9 inch and 4 inch, wrapped or unwrapped, pointy end to pierce sealing film.
• Regular drinking straws: 6 mm, 8.27 inch and 9 inch, wrapped or unwrapped, flat or pointy end.
• Smoothie and shake straws: 8 mm, 9 inch.
• Cocktail straws: 6 mm, 5 inch, for bars and tasting rooms.
• Cutlery: forks, knives, spoons, sporks, and soup spoons made from bamboo fiber and plant starch.

Serving the whole Bay Area

We ship to restaurants, boba shops, cafes, bars, caterers, and concessions across San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Fremont, Daly City, South San Francisco, and surrounding communities. Many Bay Area cities have their own foodware ordinances, so tell us where you operate and we will point you to the local rules. We import directly and ship from our own warehouse in Southern California, with supply chain experience going back to 1979.

Custom branded wrappers

We print custom paper straw wrappers in white or brown paper with up to two colors, so your brand is in every customer's hand. Production typically takes 3 to 4 months after the design is final. Contact us for design guidelines.

Try them in your own drinks

We send free samples to Bay Area businesses so you can test them in real service before ordering a case. Request free samples or see wholesale ordering. Prefer to talk? Call 323-880-0899.