Disney Parks to Ban Straws

[D.Silentu]

So, are paper straws the planned alternative, or do they have something else in mind?

 

[Disney Irish]

Just like it was an evil plot to make us buy higher quality plastic bags by not giving us free ones. Funny how the produce bags are free. Or the evil plot to make us pay for air when filling up our tires. Or making us rent a grocery cart so that we put it back instead of sending a box boy out to collect them.

Well I've never had to rent a grocery cart.

But we do have a landfill problem in this state. With the largest landfills in the country being here. And a lot of recyclables end up in the landfill or in the oceans. So I'm actually ok with keeping as much extra stuff out of the landfills or oceans.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Its an evil plot to sell Mickey crazy straws

You mean Mickey Crazy Staph Incubators.

 

[Disney Irish]

You mean Mickey Crazy Staph Incubators.

Only if you don't wash them...

 

[Phroobar]

Well I've never had to rent a grocery cart.

But we do have a landfill problem in this state. With the largest landfills in the country being here. And a lot of recyclables end up in the landfill or in the oceans. So I'm actually ok with keeping as much extra stuff out of the landfills or oceans.

The problem is most things that are stuck in recycling bins are not recycled. They go into the landfill. Since China has stopped receiving foreign recycled goods, a lot of companies just trash it instead.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/climate/recycling-landfills-plastic-papers.html

 

[Ismael Flores]

In case you haven't heard Santa Monica recently banned straws and anybody who is found distributing the illegal plastic sticks for drinking can be locked up in jail. And now, Disney is in on the fun. The company has announced that Disney parks around the world will ban all plastic, one use straws by 2019. Disney is not the only company to do away with these plastic straws as Starbucks has earlier this year as well.

Walt Disney Company to eliminate plastic straws and more by 2019

The purpose of this move? Reduce plastic waste in the ocean. This decision should prove to be useless as according to this 2017 article, 95% of the plastic waste in the oceans come from Africa and Asia. Only 5% is coming from the Western World and I'm going to guess the percent coming from Disney theme parks alone is even less.

These actions are nothing more than virtue signaling by Disney, and the others who have done the same, to make themselves look, and feel, good by claiming they're helping when in reality this does nothing of significance. This war on straws must end.

Shouldn't it start somewhere? If every corporation shurgged it off because its only a minimal percentage then the problem will not go away. The plastic straw removal started with one company and now three large corporation have already announced the removal, Starbucks, Mcdonalds and now Disney. Along with them several countries in the EU have moved forwards to the removal of plastic straws and one use plastic bags.

Maybe the next ones to make a change will be the soda distributors and start using alternatives for the six pack plastic yokes

 

[TROR]

Shouldn't it start somewhere? If every corporation shurgged it off because its only a minimal percentage then the problem will not go away. The plastic straw removal started with one company and now three large corporation have already announced the removal, Starbucks, Mcdonalds and now Disney. Along with them several countries in the EU have moved forwards to the removal of plastic straws and one use plastic bags.

Maybe the next ones to make a change will be the soda distributors and start using alternatives for the six pack plastic yokes

It means nothing. Even if we remove all plastic waste from the US and Europe, Asia and Africa produce 95% of the plastic waste in the ocean. The change needs to start with them before we start punishing ourselves.

Anyways, stopped by Wendy's and grabbed some straws. I won't let them win this.

 

[Disney Irish]

The problem is most things that are stuck in recycling bins are not recycled. They go into the landfill. Since China has stopped receiving foreign recycled goods, a lot of companies just trash it instead.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/climate/recycling-landfills-plastic-papers.html

Well luckily shopping cart rentals haven't become a big thing in the Bay Area that I’ve seen.

I think we need to change our recycling processes anyways. More needs to be handled here domestically instead of shipping off to China or other nations to recycle it for us. Hey Mr. Blowhard President, you really want create US jobs instead of being just a talking point in your rallies, there you go. End-to-end manufacturing, from creation to recycling and back again.

Additionally there are newer recycling technologies available to make the process more efficient, but most recycling processors don't use them. We should require these processors to upgrade as newer proven technologies come available.

And the last step is that materials science needs to become a large scale industry again. Instead of trying to find cheaper ways to create these materials, they need to be finding better ways to create them from recyclable materials.

 

[Disney Irish]

It means nothing. Even if we remove all plastic waste from the US and Europe, Asia and Africa produce 95% of the plastic waste in the ocean. The change needs to start with them before we start punishing ourselves.

Yep that's right, its always someone else that's to blame and someone else who needs fix it.

When are we as a species going to realize its one planet and everyone needs to pitch-in and stop blaming the other guy. If you wait for the other guy to start nothing will ever get done.

Anyways, stopped by Wendy's and grabbed some straws. I won't let them win this.

I think its cute how you think you grabbing some extra straws is not letting them "win".

 

[shortstop]

When are we as a species going to realize its one planet and everyone needs to pitch-in and stop blaming the other guy. If you wait for the other guy to start nothing will ever get done.

But here’s the thing: we can do all we want to help the problem, but until the people who are actually causing the majority of the damage do something about it, we won’t even make a small dent in the problem. We don’t need the Kumbaya. It’s not about blaming others, it’s just the facts of the matter.

 

[TP2000]

View attachment 298735

While I really can't get concerned about America being responsible for the 1% of the plastic junk going into the oceans, what I'm more concerned about is what you keep in that metal cage in the back of your van?

 

[TROR]

Yep that's right, its always someone else that's to blame and someone else who needs fix it.

When are we as a species going to realize its one planet and everyone needs to pitch-in and stop blaming the other guy. If you wait for the other guy to start nothing will ever get done.

The only people who are to blame are the people doing it. US is responsible for 1% of plastic pollution in the ocean. Considering the size of the United States, that's incredible. We're never going to get to 0%. Put the blame on Asia and Africa for their huge waste. Make them take responsibility for their actions.

 

[Disney Irish]

But here’s the thing: we can do all we want to help the problem, but until the people who are actually causing the majority of the damage do something about it, we won’t even make a small dent in the problem. We don’t need the Kumbaya. It’s not about blaming others, it’s just the facts of the matter.

Except it does have an impact, even if its a longer term impact. When the US leads the rest of the world tends to follow, even if it takes them longer to get there.

Its like saying the US shouldn't do anything about improving air quality because China produces more pollution, so China needs to improve theirs first before we improve ours. Come on, seriously....

 

[MisterPenguin]

The only people who are to blame are the people doing it. US is responsible for 1% of plastic pollution in the ocean. Considering the size of the United States, that's incredible. We're never going to get to 0%. Put the blame on Asia and Africa for their huge waste. Make them take responsibility for their actions.

If the Asian super-polluters got their act together and recycled like the U.S. such that the U.S. was then providing 25% of ocean plastic, would it then be appropriate to act?

Because, in either case, the amount the U.S. is letting go in to the oceans is the same.

 

[shortstop]

Except it does have an impact, even if its a longer term impact. When the US leads the rest of the world tends to follow, even if it takes them longer to get there.

Its like saying the US shouldn't do anything about improving air quality because China produces more pollution, so China needs to improve theirs first before we improve ours. Come on, seriously....

If China is still dumping trash into oceans, I have a hard time believing they’ll be on board with banning plastic straws. “Lead by example” is a grossly passive approach by itself that won’t accomplish anything in any timely manner.

 

[Disney Irish]

The only people who are to blame are the people doing it. US is responsible for 1% of plastic pollution in the ocean. Considering the size of the United States, that's incredible. We're never going to get to 0%. Put the blame on Asia and Africa for their huge waste. Make them take responsibility for their actions.

And that is what things like the Paris Agreement was leading toward. It takes time for 3rd world nations to catch up to the rest of the industrialized world. But we can't stop our progress just because other nations aren't there yet.

 

[Disney Irish]

If China is still dumping trash into oceans, I have a hard time believing they’ll be on board with banning plastic straws. “Lead by example” is a grossly passive approach by itself that won’t accomplish anything in any timely manner.

You do realize leading by example doesn't mean sitting back and doing nothing. For example if we show that its actually profitable to recycle, which it actually is when done right, then nations like China and India will incorporate that into their infrastructure. Which in turn then means less dumping and less waste.

This is bigger than just some plastic straws.

 

[shortstop]

You do realize leading by example doesn't mean sitting back and doing nothing. For example if we show that its actually profitable to recycle, which it actually is when done right, then nations like China and India will incorporate that into their infrastructure. Which in turn then means less dumping and less waste.

This is bigger than just some plastic straws.

Maybe someday, but it hasn’t happened yet. I understand it’s not just about the straws, but it still strikes me as a bit of a hollow gesture. The new Starbucks lids have more plastic in them than the straws, for goodness sakes. In today’s society I’m skeptical of anything that looks like virtue signaling.

 

[TP2000]

It's not just China and Africa dumping their trash into rivers, although they are hugely responsible.

Here is how Brazilian towns get rid of their waste, by dumping it straight into the Amazon river. Remember when Brazil hosted the Olympics and we were all supposed to be supportive of them? No one at any of the TV Networks ever mentioned this is where all the Olympic trash was going every afternoon.



Here's how the Guatemalans do it. Little streams like this feed into the half dozen major Guatemalan rivers that roar right into the Pacific Ocean.



But if it will make you feel better to not have a straw with your Coke at Disneyland, go on and get down with your bad self.

 

[Phroobar]

While I really can't get concerned about America being responsible for the 1% of the plastic junk going into the oceans, what I'm more concerned about is what you keep in that metal cage in the back of your van?

Hitchhiking Ghosts of course.