Plastic Straw Bans

Politics and religion
1

Cities, such as Seattle, and large companies, such as Starbucks are working on imposing single use plastic straw bans in restaurants and stores.

Why Ban Straws?

“Our straw campaign is not really about straws,” said Dune Ives, the executive director of Lonely Whale, the organization that led the straw ban movement in Seattle. “It’s about pointing out how prevalent single-use plastics are in our lives. Putting up a mirror to hold us accountable. We’ve all been asleep at the wheel.”

So… awareness? I guess? I am all for protecting our environment, but we need to do this in an effective way.

https://psmag.com/environment/banning-straws-wont-save-the-oceans

Well, obviously we are at a crisis with plastic pollution in the ocean, but surely we will be helping by reducing our disposible plastic use. What does the scientific research say?

Advocates of straw bans, including campaigners in Vancouver, frequently cite a study asserting that consumers in the United States throw away 500 million straws every day. When ban advocates in California cited the 500 million number back in January, Reason writer Christian Britschgi did some research and discovered that the figure had been guesstimated by a nine-year-old boy based on his phone calls to three straw companies. The real number is closer to 175 million straws a day.

Good, glad we are using good information to move this straw ban forward. Never mind the facts! We don’t need facts in 2018. Nevertheless, 175 million is still a huge number of waste.

Straws have to be terrible for the ocean though right?

In a 2016 survey of ocean policy experts on dangerous marine waste, plastic straws listed near the bottom of the worst plastic waste dangers in the ocean. (Topping the list are plastic bags, fishing nets/debris, plastic utensils) It would seem, that according to experts, that while plastic straws expose wildlife to some risk, it isn’t at the top of the list

Why are we fixated on straws though?
It is simple. It is something that millions of Americans use and trash every day.

The reason why people have latched onto the straw ban is that it is something that you can feel good about without any real effort. Sure, I can skip the straw and feel like I have saved the environment! Starbucks can introduce a new sippy cup lid and jack up the price of an iced latte by 0.10$ and you will forget about all of the massive amount of environmental waste the rest of their company does.

But still, banning plastic straws really has no downside, I can just sip my drink!

Well… are you one of the countless disabled people that need plastic straws to drink liquids?

Couldn’t disabled people just bring their own straws?

Sure, many do! Many need specific straws or equipment to get their vital need for liquids during the day, but what if a group of co-workers wants to do a Starbucks run at work, and they have forgotten their straw? This is not how disability laws in our society work. And providing plastic straws is a very simple way to allow for disabled people to go about their days without one more thing to remind them of their disability.

Fine! Reducing waste is important! How can we fix our consumption problem?

Did you know that you are supposed to recycle your straws and lids? I certainly never thought about it until now. But recycling will eliminate the risk of your straw choking an unfortunate sea-turtle.

What about introducing alternatives, and an “opt-in” program for straws. This would be as simple as Starbuck’s new cup coming without a straw, and those needing a straw can just ask for one. That would make the consumer choice simple, and reduce quite a bit of waste.

Jessica Denise Grono, of Phoenixville, Pa., who has cerebral palsy and who blogs as “CP Mommy,” said in an email interview that without a straw, "I’d be forced to have someone pour a drink in my mouth. Only half would go in. A straw gives me a less messy and independent way to drink." She said she’s not opposed to the opt-in proposals.

Read more at: Proposed bans on plastic straws run into resistance

To me, personally, I think that the bans would put an undue burden on the disabled community, work as a “PR win” for large mega-corporations without having them address their environmental policies, and do little to protect marine wildlife.

Opt-in is the way to go, it will reduce waste while remaining inclusive to the disabled community.

2

My local cities have soft-banned plastic bags already (you have to pay 10c per bag), and straws are the next target. I’m already seeing shops opt for paper straws.

I don’t hate this honestly. Paper straws suck, this is known, but you can bring your own straw. I have a reusable Starbucks cup with a thick plastic straw I wash in the sink that I bring with me, and they give me 10c off my drink for it.

If you’re disabled enough to need a straw you already probably have a whole loadout of equipment to help you with your disability, so you can add a straw to that. Scrapping this because of the opinion of a mommy-blogger seems silly.

Then you use the paper straw and drink quickly before it disintegrates.

3

Seems like someone could have figured that number was nonsensical, since it’d mean that literally every human in the country was using more than one straw every day, which seems pretty obviously wrong.

The straw ban doesn’t seem like it’s a huge deal though, since it’s not like those places don’t have straws… they just use waxed paper straws now.

4

I don’t want to specifically call you out right now, because I think that this is a learning opportunity.

Read the NPR article I sent along. What you are saying is very able-ist.

There are many alternatives to plastic straws — paper, biodegradable plastics and even reusable ones made from metal or silicone. But paper straws and similar biodegradable options often fall apart too quickly or are easy for people with limited jaw control to bite through. Silicone straws are often not flexible — one of the most important features for people with mobility features. Reusable straws need to be washed, which not all people with disabilities can do easily. And metal straws, which conduct heat and cold in addition to being hard and inflexible, can pose a safety risk.

It is a question about access. And making massive changes like this, with little to no scientific evidence of the importance of this ban, without considering the nation’s disabled population is just wrong.

On social media, many people have responded to claims that people with disabilities need plastic straws by asking what people did before plastic straws were invented. “They aspirated liquid in their lungs, developed pneumonia and died,” says Shaun Bickley, co-chair of the Seattle Commission for People with DisAbilities

“You’re putting this burden on disabled people to come up with a solution. You’re not asking companies that manufacture straws to come up with a version that works for us,” autism activist Wiley-Mydske says. “You won’t even take the bus instead of driving your car somewhere,” she says, adding, “How many of you are willing to die for the environment?”

My problem is, that these huge corporations are doing all of this without properly consulting and consdering those with disabilities. Rather than the Starbucks megacorp coming up with a solution for disabled people, we expect them to, yet again, figure it out themselves.

You should have brought your own straws! I guess you can’t have any water then! We don’t have any straws here.

It was a hot day at the zoo when Jordan Carlson’s son, who has motor-planning delays, got thirsty. “We went to the snack bar and found out they had a ‘no straw’ policy,” Carlson says. “It was a hot day and he couldn’t drink.”

5

I will. But you gotta prove to me my death will save the earth.

6

Seems like a 5p/c surcharge approach as used for bags would be a sensible way to do it. It has a pretty dramatic impact on customer behaviour even for a modest increase relative to the size of the shopping bill. And of course it should be implemented alongside recycling, it’s not an either/or situation. I’d be surprised if most of the cities looking at this didn’t already have strong recycling programmes. These ideas don’t emerge in a vacuum.

7

10c for a straw seems like a good compromise. Then you can give disabled kids free straws, but it will deter 99% of customers from using the bad straws I think.

8

I think the main problem I have is that it is a “ban” a ban removes the option entirely, for everyone. Which adversely effects the disabled community.

There are other options, like presenting straws as an “opt in” or adding a surcharge, like with plastic bags (which are the #1 plastic killer of ocean life, when it comes to consumer products)

Look, I am willing to ditch straws, all of us who can should. But creating blanket ban could have unintended negative effects.

Seattle’s ban supposedly has a work-around for the disabled community… but…

A spokesman for Seattle Public Utilities confirmed to NPR that the city’s new plastic straw ban does include a waiver allowing restaurants to give disposable, flexible plastic straws to customers who need them for physical or medical reasons. But Carter-Long and Bickley say there doesn’t seem to be widespread awareness of the exemption. Bickley says he asked over a dozen Seattle chain restaurants – including McDonald’s and Chipotle – “if they had plastic straws available for people with allergies or need, and they told me no.”

It works in theory, but in practice things get a bit muddled. They “can” provide straws to disabled, but not “must”.

9

I would have thought that they “must” under the ADA. Obviously putting the onus on individuals to bring an ADA claim isn’t ideal, but the Seattle law does make accommodation.

10

Fair enough, but hastily written and enacted bans based on a telephone survey by a 9 year old tend to be light on details.

11

Oddly enough, my wife and I recently got metal reusable straws. 25 cents for 4 of them I think.

They are awesome, and my kids love to use them and I love how we no longer use plastic straws.

Maybe it would be a burden to carry around metal straws, just like it’s a burden to carry around tote bags but it’s not like their aren’t good solutions out there.

12

I think it is important to visualize this as a disabled person though. If you want to use metal or silicone straws yourself, and you forget one on a trip to the park, no problem, you can sip your drink. If you are a disabled person who makes the same mistake, you get to be thirsty.

13

In a post detailing how the plastic straw became the cause du jour for those who love the oceans, Dune Ives, executive director for the Lonely Whale Foundation, wrote, “We found plastic water bottles too endemic, plastic bags already somewhat politicized, and no viable alternative for the plastic cup in ALL markets.” So they chose plastic straws, a “playful” alternative and a “'gateway plastic’ to the larger and more serious plastic pollution conversation.”

Plastic straws, the gateway drug of disposible consumer products.

14

If I forget my wallet, I get to be thirsty too, whether I have my straws or not. If I forget my keys, I get locked out of my house.

If I forget my diaper bag… It’s a basic survival kit, with everything I need. Diapers, wipes, fresh clothes, special cups, books, toys.

Heck, when my kids were only 1 year olds, every trip that was longer than 30 or so minutes either had to be done after nursing, or my wife had to come along, because you never know when a baby would be hungry.

Basically, we are all one short step from having a ruined day. People with disabilities have a lot more needs, but they figure it out and we all have our survival packs.

Being a white CIS male, if I travel without kids, it’s a pretty small survival pack, but when you have special needs, it gets bigger.

15

With all due respect, you chose to have a child. They didn’t chose to have cerebral palsy.

16

Sure, I made a choice that was best for me, but that doesn’t make the burden any less. We all deal with our needs, and a straw isn’t something that is going to keep me awake at night especially since there are so many other things we do to make life shitty for each other.

By the way, and with all due respect, people without kids just will never understand.

17

People without a life-changing disability don’t just understand either, I guess.

18

Better than you think.
Thankful, my own disabilities don’t impact my ability to drink, just everything else in life.

19

Seems like a lot of this conversation is looking at this backward.

We should start with “is this legislation justified?” and it sounds like there’s already plenty of doubt that it is. It sounds like it’s based on bad research and should be reevaluated. That seems like a bigger hurdle that should be cleared before we skip to assuming it’s a fundamentally good idea and start trying to debate the costs and management of the negative impact on the community, and I say that not to dismiss or trivialize what Jon’s explaining about the disabled community.

20

Maybe I missed something… is there a problem with just using waxed paper straws?