BYOS bring your own straw (Disney removing straws and more in 2019)

[AurumPunzel]

Maybe not. Big picture... until “they” stop putting carcinogens in our food and cleaning supplies, VOCs in many household items, reduce the damage caused by lightbulbs and cellular 5G, and so much more, plastic reduction is not really the issue. Sea life is important, but human beings should be priority. Progress should not be more valuable than humans. Additionally if you read articles about this you can get real stats from environmental scientists who discuss the minimal impact and that in many cases recycling causes more damage to the ozone and oceans that the actual plastic itself.

This is what often annoys me every time the 'oceanhuggers' keep saying "we must save the planet and get rid of all [single-use or often conflated to be single-use] plastics!" when they're conveniently ignoring other environmental issues such as VOCs, habitat destruction for paper and palm oil, and CO2 emissions. I bet they even forget that most alternatives have higher CO2 footprints than plastic, but would rather focus on waste than production footprint. What this world really needs is a solution that will please both sides, yet we should be focusing more on the regions where the real plastic waste problems occur, which the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research has clearly pointed out in their research.

 

[SueM in MN]

Eliminating straws has more parts to it than most people are aware of.
Straws being eliminated are a big concern for many people with disabilities who are not able to drink without one.
It’s easy to tell people to bring straws with them, but not so easy to do it in real life.

If disposable straws go away from restaurants, they will also disappear from stores, so that means some kind of reusable straw that needs to be washed. Not everyone who needs a straw to drink is physically capable of cleaning a straw and may not have someone with them all the time to do it for them.
And, the straws would need to be washed pretty soon after use to prevent growth of bacteria.

My daughter can’t actually drink with a straw, so I don’t have a direct connection with this. We do travel with a cup she is able to drink from and a set of regular silverware (she tends to bite down hard and has shattered plastic forks and spoons (really an issue if it’s the clear plastic kind).

I’m very active on social media in different disability groups and have read a lot about the straw debate.
Some of my social media friends have been doing beta testing for different types of straws, including biodegradeable ones. All of the people need straws to drink and were successful with regular plastic straws.
So far, none of the tests I’ve read about have been successful. Some were too soft and collapsed when drinking or tore if bitten, some started dissolving enough to get gummy, some were too hard and were dangerous if bitten. Some were too brittle and broke into sharp pieces.

People with many different types of disabilities can use the current plastic straws without an issue, but none of the alternatives (so far) are able to be used as universally as plastic straws.

So, there will be a lot more to come.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

There are at least a few people on this thread who remember lids at AK. Now, maybe it depends upon what you get and where. We usually eat TS, but I remember getting a lid at Restaurontasaurus when I got a souvenir mug. The beverage came in a cup with a lid inside the mug.

Maybe depends on where - we were at Sautu’li Canteen this past Friday and definitely no lids and none available in the open (didn’t ask for one so perhaps they have them in the back)

 

[ChrisNY2]

Maybe depends on where - we were at Sautu’li Canteen this past Friday and definitely no lids and none available in the open (didn’t ask for one so perhaps they have them in the back)

Animal Kingdom has never had lids or plastic straws for the whole 20 years it has been open.

 

[jo-jo]

I was just googling about straws at WDW. A news story came up. This is one line from the story.
Every day, Americans throw away 500 million plastic straws, meaning the average American uses over 35,000 of them in a lifetime.

I would have to live to be 95 years old and use a straw every single day of my life to reach that number. From birth to death, a straw every single day.

Somewhere I must have my truckload of straws just waiting for me use. I can't remember the last time I used a straw. Might have been while in disney back in May. I don't use them at home, sometimes the grandkids do. But my hundred count box is a couple of years old, so we aren't using that many.

For me, if disney didn't want to give out plastic straws, I'd bring a few of my own. But it seems there are reports of no straws at all being available. I don't understand that.

 

[Farro]

Animal Kingdom has never had lids or plastic straws for the whole 20 years it has been open.

The Starbucks in Animal Kingdom has had lids and paper straws since it opened.

 

[MinnieMyers]

So many places are beginning to do this, so I am not surprised. But I heard they are doing paper?

 

[DisArmyWife215]

.... some started dissolving enough to get gummy

This! We had to ask for multiple straws while at Sanaa because they kept dissolving and getting gummy in our drinks.

 

[middlechild]

The local water park closed for the year yesterday here in Illinois. While floating on the lazy river, tried to calculate how many plastic straws could be made from the tube I was using to drift, the conclusion dawned this ban is an attempt to cater to a certain demographic. And I am not part of that demographic. If banning straws delays the next price increase, I am all for it. But I have my doubts. The question then becomes how to drink the root beer float without one?

 

[AurumPunzel]

This! We had to ask for multiple straws while at Sanaa because they kept dissolving and getting gummy in our drinks.

This links into my concern about unintended consequences regarding phaseouts and replacements. As paper requires significantly more resources to produce than plastic, when people go through them like mad, it's going to end up driving demand through the roof - so much that, somewhere down the line, we'll then start to worry about the carbon footprint paper production emits, and the amount of chemicals/water paper production uses, which could have an adverse effect on nearby water supplies.

 

[SueM in MN]

This! We had to ask for multiple straws while at Sanaa because they kept dissolving and getting gummy in our drinks.

This links into my concern about unintended consequences regarding phaseouts and replacements. As paper requires significantly more resources to produce than plastic, when people go through them like mad, it's going to end up driving demand through the roof - so much that, somewhere down the line, we'll then start to worry about the carbon footprint paper production emits, and the amount of chemicals/water paper production uses, which could have an adverse effect on nearby water supplies.

I’ve had Frappachinos multiple times at Starbucks at AK.
It’s usual for me to need at least 3 paper straws because they keep dissolving.

 

[AurumPunzel]

I’ve had Frappachinos multiple times at Starbucks at AK.
It’s usual for me to need at least 3 paper straws because they keep dissolving.

They seriously need to consider a far better alternative, but I can't help but feel that Disney are yet bandwagoning on a virtue-signalling cause while there's still yet to be a viable alternative that's on par with plastic in terms of advantages.

 

[rteetz]

I’ve had Frappachinos multiple times at Starbucks at AK.
It’s usual for me to need at least 3 paper straws because they keep dissolving.

I never have that issue. I am not one who takes a long time to drink anything really. I am not sure what a good alternative would be either.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I’ve had Frappachinos multiple times at Starbucks at AK.
It’s usual for me to need at least 3 paper straws because they keep dissolving.

They seriously need to consider a far better alternative, but I can't help but feel that Disney are yet bandwagoning on a virtue-signalling cause while there's still yet to be a viable alternative that's on par with plastic in terms of advantages.

I never have that issue. I am not one who takes a long time to drink anything really. I am not sure what a good alternative would be either.

Well, an alternative is non-disposable straws just like at Starbucks you can use reusable cups

Or just not using a straw at all - I know that is not practical for some drinks and for some people .... that is why I would almost prefer the method of just not automatically giving straws, but having them available for request - that would cut down on a lot of straw usage but also be there for people that needed them

 

[AurumPunzel]

Well, an alternative is non-disposable straws just like at Starbucks you can use reusable cups

Or just not using a straw at all - I know that is not practical for some drinks and for some people .... that is why I would almost prefer the method of just not automatically giving straws, but having them available for request - that would cut down on a lot of straw usage but also be there for people that needed them

But not everyone's going to be able to carry around those reusables all the time, not to mention that people with certain disabilities who want independence aren't always going to be able to clean their own reusables.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

But not everyone's going to be able to carry around those reusables all the time, not to mention that people with certain disabilities who want independence aren't always going to be able to clean their own reusables.

right, but we can adapt ... we now more often carry around collapsible reusable shopping bags, and we can carry a reusable cup for starbucks if we want already. I mean, 20 years ago no one carried a phone around with them and now basically everyone does - things can change over time

and like I said, I thik the better alternative is to have straws available for those that need it, just not give it automatically

 

[UncleMike101]

Well, an alternative is non-disposable straws just like at Starbucks you can use reusable cups

Or just not using a straw at all - I know that is not practical for some drinks and for some people .... that is why I would almost prefer the method of just not automatically giving straws, but having them available for request - that would cut down on a lot of straw usage but also be there for people that needed them

I'd like to watch someone try to drink an iced coffee mocha with whipped cream from Starbucks without a straw.......
It would be entertaining to say the least.

 

[AurumPunzel]

I'd like to watch someone try to drink an iced coffee mocha with whipped cream from Starbucks without a straw.......
It would be entertaining to say the least.

I wouldn't be able to enjoy a Frappucino without a proper straw that won't fall apart easily, and I don't know if those reusable plastic Mickey straws will work with Frappucinos or not.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I was just googling about straws at WDW. A news story came up. This is one line from the story.
Every day, Americans throw away 500 million plastic straws, meaning the average American uses over 35,000 of them in a lifetime.

Yeah... that would be every American throwing away 1.5 straws per day, every day of their lives. No one questioned it. #journalism


"That figure has been cited widely, appearing in stories by USA Today, CNN, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News and, yes, even The New York Times.

But consider the source: The number is based on research conducted years ago by an enterprising 9-year-old Vermont boy named Milo Cress.
...
Fact check: The claim that 500 million straws are used by Americans is an estimate above the ranges of more rigorous studies. Market research firms put the figure between 170 million and 390 million per day, or 63 billion to 142 billion straws per year."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/business/plastic-straws-ban-fact-check-nyt.html

 

[dakotix]

Florida grid is mostly natural gas + some coal too. Is Disney planning on investing in solar generation in the Sunshine State? If it's clean electricity, they can crank that A/C all they want.

We have solar. Unfortunately it isn't a replacement for the grid. It helps reduce what you pull from the grid but will never completely replace your dependence on it.