California became the first state last year to require that sit-down restaurants give plastic straws only to customers who request them. When seven states and a string of cities took up similar proposals this year, it appeared as if a wave was cresting in the fight to rein in plastic pollution.

But the new round of lawmaking has come with complications, including opposition from business and free enterprise groups, and a fight over which level of government should have the right to regulate single-use plastics. It’s still far from clear how far the anti-plastic revolution will spread. Read More