Straw Ban Or Straw Man?

Why Plastic Straw Bans Aren’t

The Answer
by RJ JOSEPH
6 AUGUST 2018

A movement to ban disposable plastic straws is sweeping the US after gaining

traction in cities and countries across the world, finding widespread attention after
Starbucks announced it would phase out disposable straws by 2020. However,
according to disability rights advocates, banning disposable plastic straws, which
were originally created as disability aides, presents unacceptable barriers for people with many disabilities.
Aided by a widespread desire for meaningful environmental change and a viral video of a sea turtle with a
plastic straw stuck in its nose, plastic straw bans have been celebrated by individuals, companies, and
legislators as a positive and necessary move towards widespread environmental change. But do plastic straw
bans really represent meaningful change—and if so, at what cost? According to those affected and a growing
pool of evidence, plastic straw bans not only fail to accommodate people with various disabilities, they also fail
to create the meaningful positive environmental change they claim to prioritize.

The Numbers
Straw bans have been framed by many as a necessary first step toward reducing plastic waste. Even those
who acknowledge the challenges plastic straw bans present to elderly and disabled individuals have framed
straw bans as a choice between access and the environment. But it’s important to consider the numbers when
thinking about those impacts.

How much do disposable plastic straws really contribute to the world’s plastic waste and overall
pollution? According to a recent report by environmental group Better Alternatives Now (BAN),
plastic straws and stirrers (grouped together in this report but not in all bans) comprised about 7%
of plastic items found along the California coastline, by piece. Compared to plastic bags at 9% or
plastic bottle caps at 17%, it’s a not-insignificant chunk of plastic. However, when taken by weight,
a report by Jambeck Research Group places plastic straws at only .03% of aggregate plastic in
the oceans themselves, suggesting that straws’ lightness and buoyancy lead them to end up
overrepresented on the coastline.

Perhaps even more saliently, a recent survey by Ocean Cleanup estimated that nearly half of the
plastic waste found in the oceans’ largest garbage patch comes from fishing nets, primarily
commercial ones. These numbers point to what disability rights advocates have said about straw
bans: while the bans have enormous potential to harm the elderly and disabled, they bring about
neither the dramatic reductions in plastic that curtailing activities of corporate polluters would
effect, nor the smaller yet harmless reductions that bans on items like plastic balloons and plastic shopping
bags bring about.

Also significant to note about the BAN report is that products labeled as biodegradable or
compostable plastics are not, in fact, actually biodegradable in an earth or ocean environment.
Many are moving toward biodegradable plastic straws as a substitute for current plastic models,
but according to data, those not only do not come with any actual impact on ocean plastics, they
also bring additional challenges of potentially fatal food allergies and reduced durability into the
lives of disabled straw-users.

Another salient point many have made is that plastic conservation efforts have many other starting
points that don’t target accessibility aides. Plastic straws were chosen as a symbolic starting point
by environmental advocacy group Lonely Whale (originator of the #stopsucking social media
campaign). They have acknowledged in multiple interviews that straw bans present potential
problems for people with disabilities. Lonely Whale did not respond to my request before press
time, but resources, including the group’s staff training, clearly outline the need for acknowledging the
complex issue straw bans present to disability rights.

Kim Sauder, a Toronto-based disability rights advocate and PhD student in Disability Studies,
wants people to recognize that they aren’t choosing between disability access and the
environment. “That legitimizes the idea that a straw ban will achieve something. It ignores the
reality that a straw ban won’t do what legislators say it will. The ‘conversation’ they are starting
really boils down to what people will accept as success and the harms they will justify in the name
of that.” According to Sauder, many who have pushed for straw bans appear to be totally okay with
what even its biggest champions deem a symbolic victory against pollution, even when it comes at
the very real expense of disability access.

Potential for Harm

While plastic straws have become a go-to for all types of customers in cafes, bars, and restaurants, they were
originally invented as a disability aid and used in hospitals. Joseph B. Friedman created and sold the first
disposable bendy straws as a tool to help reclined patients, as well as people with assorted other disabilities,
drink easily from cups. Sold as the Flex-Straw, they were and still are an inexpensive,
temperature-resistant, sturdy, and sanitary alternative to the reusable silicone feeding tubes which
were in heavy rotation before their advent. They achieved mainstream popularity because the
design was superior to existing alternatives for all people, not just people with disabilities.

As disability rights advocates have pointed out, all current substitutes fail to meet the same standard of
universal design. Compostable alternatives lack the same sturdiness, making them too easy to chew through
or choke on for people with limited jaw mobility and (in the case of paper straws) too flimsy for people with
longer drinking periods. Reusable alternatives present problems too; not only would people with disabilities
need to carry them around on top of other medical necessities, they’re also difficult to wash, dangerously
unsanitary if not properly washed, conduct heat and cold, and present cutting risks. With the current
selections of alternatives on the market, if establishments don’t have a stash of plastic straws in-house, they
risk creating situations where people with specific disabilities either can’t drink safely, or can’t drink at all.

“Plastic bendy straws provide me with a basic needs that everyone else has access to,” says Jae Kim, a
straw-user and social work intern at Seattle’s Arc of King County. “They became a part of me that I can’t lose.
Without them, I can’t consume any liquids and it is the biggest, scariest concern I have.”

Sauder argues that it’s the responsibility of legislators and straw manufacturers to ensure that they
create a truly viable alternative that works for all before banning the disposable plastic options that
currently serve everyone’s needs, pointing out that it shouldn’t be on people with disabilities to lose
essential access tools in order to support symbolic legislation. Kim wants non-disabled people to
think about how that experience would feel. “How would your life look if you needed to go through barriers
just to have a sip of water?”

Case Studies: San Francisco and Santa Barbara

Many governments implementing straw bans have built in disability exemptions, but those too can
present serious problems if not worded correctly. In order to make sure that people who need
plastic straws can access them, laws need to include clauses that specifically mandate keeping
plastic straws in-house with signage to let people know about they’re available, rather than simply
exempting businesses who want to accommodate disabled patrons.

San Francisco passed straw ban legislation with a disability exemption stipulating that businesses
are allowed to make exemptions for people who need them, rather than mandating that they
accommodate people with disabilities. This was criticized by many in the disabled community
because, as proven with countless ADA requirements, many businesses accommodate people
with disabilities only when required by law. According to Supervisor Katy Tang, the legislation is
currently being amended to include more specific language around disability access.

Much more extreme is the legislation introduced in Santa Barbara, which not only prohibits any business or
individual from handing out plastic straws—including compostable plastic straws, which are the closest
alternative for people who need to use straws due to disability—it actually punishes repeat offenders with
heavy fines and jail time. For providers to get a disability exemption, they must apply to the city of Santa
Barbara for an exemption due to “medical necessity,” an extra step that makes it that much harder and more
expensive for businesses to serve customers with disabilities. I have not been able to get comments from
anyone involved in the Santa Barbara legislation.

San Francisco’s Wrecking Ball Coffee announced that in light of the ban, they will now carry two
types of straws, with a request that patrons use compostable straws unless they need plastic
bendy straws. “We were always proud that we had compostable straws at WB, but when SF began
discussing a plastic straw ban, we looked a little deeper,” Wrecking Ball co-founder Trish Rothgeb
told me by email. Hearing the voices of the disabled community, they added plastic bendy straws
to their condiment bar. “It’s not up to the baristas to police the situation. We can’t assume we know a
person’s needs by looking at them. Will a kid get a straw because it’s fun, when it’s really not meant for them?
Most probably, but it’s a small price to pay for making sure every guest gets what they need without any
judgement or extra work on their part.”

What You Can Do

Whether you live in a place with a straw ban or not, there’s a lot you can do, both for the environment and for
people with disabilities that will be affected by straw bans.

If you live in an area with a straw ban and own, manage, or work in a business that serves
beverages, make sure to keep a stash of plastic bendy straws for patrons with disabilities that need
them—ideally right in the condiment area with adequate signage, like Wrecking Ball now does. If you live in
an area that is pushing for a straw ban, contact your legislators and fight for a disability accommodation
mandate, rather than just an exemption.

In addition, if you’re a non-disabled person who wants to help the environment, do what you can to
take personal responsibility for your own use of reusable and sustainable materials for as many of
your daily activities as possible. “Are you cognitive of the environmental impact you may contribute in all
aspects of life,” asks organizer and Seattle Disability Commission chair Khazm Kogita. “How can you strive to
minimize your footprint on the planet? At the same time, be aware that different people have different needs,
and for some people, straws are an essential part of their daily living. Are your actions or decisions hindering
other people’s independence?”

Most of all, listen to people with disabilities when they raise issues and recognize that they
understand their bodies and accessibility needs. Coffee shops have long been spaces where
people congregate to challenge the status quo, and as such, they are uniquely equipped to make
sure the fight against plastic waste prioritizes the needs of people with disabilities.