Straw bans in SoCal have some turning to metal even pasta straw solutions

Malibu is just one city of many that has said goodbye to offering plastic straws, leaving restaurants to get creative when serving up straw worthy beverages.

Bob Morris of Paradise Cove Beach Cafe said his restaurant has straws made from pasta.

Think hard, dried penne pasta without the pasta being chopped up.

"We've done about 600,000 straws on a beta test here we've had four people talk about it," said Morris.

You'd be hard pressed to drink one of his concoctions without one. Most of the Café's beverages come in a pineapple, coconut or watermelon. So Morris dreamed up a pasta straw that does the job, without any taste challenges.

"We tried it, it stays perfect for four hours in a cold drink. Anybody that takes four hours to finish a drink can go somewhere else," he said jokingly.

The straw is made from flour and water can compost overnight. It costs maybe a half cent more than the plastic version, yet is environmentally safe.

"Sysco Corporation is distributing it. We've got tests going on over all over the world," said Morris.

Many other restaurants offer a compostable straw, but if you really want to be environmental, you can literally buy a metal one.

"We added metal straws around Christmas time and can't keep them in stock. We're bringing in different kinds chrome, rose gold, people love them," said Kyle Burton, manager of Caffe Luxxe.

Burton says the straws are sold in the company's Malibu and Santa Monica stores. But the big challenge is if you drink any milk based beverage, cleaning it can be tough.

In response, local Topanga company Moohah Creatives not only sells metal 'Mooh-straws' with a carry tote, but provides a pipe cleaner as well. Ten percent of their profits go toward charities that protect ocean and sea wildlife.

And on April 22, which is Earth day, L.A. county restaurants may not automatically provide a straw. Signs will be posted for customers to request or servers will ask if a straw is needed.