News Disney removing plastic straws and more by mid-2019

[peter11435]

I'm going to guess that you've never had to deal with sensitive teeth or a debilitative problem such as Parkinson's or cerebral palsy...

Actually I have.

I’m sure Disney will have accommodations for those that paper straws won’t work for. And if not those guests could and should bring what they need. If I knew I needed a certain straw to allow me to drink I certainly wouldn’t rely on anyone else to provide it for me anywhere I go.

 

[rnese]

Look, I'm old enough to remember when grocery stores had paper bags. I had to make book covers out of them, decorate them with "Van Halen", "Def Leppard", "Duran Duran" logos. Then I was told that too many trees had to be killed for paper bags. Start using plastic bags. I remember Pepsi and Coke came in glass bottles. Then I was told that they're switching to...PLASTIC, because plastic is recyclable. So when I get a bunch of "elightened" people, riding around on their high horses, attempting to shame others for using plastic straws, I'm going to pause. I'm all for recycling. I'm all for taking care of the environment. But I don't allow it to consume me. And I certainly don't appreciate people who ride around on their high horses, thinking they're "better", or "more enlightened "than others, because they think they "did something".

Now, how about that Tron Coaster!?!?!?!?

 

[DanielBB8]

hmm, I wonder if security will confiscate my box of straws I plan to bring late next year???

I love to swipe straws at the restaurants to use at home especially the nice green straws at Starbucks. Soon that’ll be gone.

 

[Raineman]

If WDW stops using plastic bags for their merch purchased at their gift shops-what is going to happen when you purchase items at the parks, and have them delivered to the parcel pick-up at your resort? Those items are always in plastic bags when you pick them up. Are they going to be charging extra because they have to use the more expensive reusable bags?

 

[rnese]

So you’re in favor of it just until it effects you...

No. You're in favor of it until it effects you.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

As a person who bites my straw...paper straws just don't work for me because they get all soggy. Maybe they should focus on bigger items and not the smallest item of plastic. This also makes me feel like one day we are going to all be stuck using "reusable toilet paper" lol

People do use reusable toilet paper. It's called family cloth. It definitely wouldn't work at a hotel, but it is a thing.

 

[DisneyCane]

Looks like I'm going to purchase several thousand plastic straws and keep a lifetime supply in my attic. I like drinking through a straw. It doesn't destroy the environment to use one. I'm a germophope and I don't like touching the rim of a cup that has been handled by others with my mouth. Sippy lids are worse because the area where your mouth goes has almost certainly been handled. Even for normal people, when using a soda fountain that allows refills, the rim of the cup makes contact with the switch bar all the time. It's also better for your teeth to drink soda (and other staining liquids) through a straw so the liquid bypasses your front teeth.

If some plastic straws end up in a landfill or being incinerated who cares. Plastic straws, when properly disposed of, are not destroying the planet (no matter what the nine year old kid said in his report that started this craziness). They are not radioactive or made of toxic chemicals that will poison people or wildlife. There is a miniscule amount of plastic in them. The US does not allow dumping of plastic into the ocean (more specifically "persistent inert synthetic or natural materials which may float or remain in suspension in the ocean in such a manner that they may interfere materially with fishing navigation or other legitimate uses of the ocean;") so take that argument away.

Can everybody please stop with this "feel good" stuff because it makes them feel in control of what happens to the earth? Natural phenomenon (like the volcano in Hawaii), do far more "damage" than a civilized society using plastic straws. The fact that the area destroyed by the lava will become fertile land in a few hundred thousand years doesn't change anything with respect to humanity. BTW, it was determined that the lids that Starbucks is switching to are "worse" for the environment than the straws.

When they started this crap in Vail last year, after reading their stupid sign detailing how it was saving the earth, I was tempted to go buy the number of straws they said they were keeping out of the waste stream and just throw them away out of spite. I only talked myself out of it because the cost/benefit equation didn't work. However, since this stupid movement is gaining momentum, I am going to purchase enough straws that I can use two a day for the rest of my life (calculated for me to live to 100 years old).

 

[jaques21]

this is fantastic, way to go Disney!

 

[monothingie]

Just one of many examples...

https://www.dieselforum.org/policyi...e-diesel-fuel-club-that-s-made-for-you-and-me

They switched to bio-diesel. There is still air pollution that is produced, and any busses that were manufactured prior to the early 2010's are typically not compatible and/or do not use the advanced clean diesel technology mandated by the feds that maximizes the effectiveness of bio-diesel. Why not switch their decades old bus fleet to new hybrid buses, or employ an new solar or electric based mass transportation system? Or why not reorganize their entire mass transit operation to include more efficient environmentally friendly methods such as monorails and light rail.

It's just more about PR than doing any actual good. Again if any of these changes affected the bottom line, you'd see how quickly they are rolled back or not even implemented.

Of course they could always pass the cost along to the guests....

 

[Bacon]

Partial quantity of scale. More demand, more supply. More supply, price goes down as more vendors enter the market and ramp up production levels. I've read several stories recently about new factories coming online to meet demand as it has been a relatively niche market so far.

But it's not necessarily about the switch in straw materials, it may be about the delivery method for the drinks. As @Master Yoda indicated, Starbucks is launching a new "sippy" lid instead of using straws everytime. If the new lids cost less than lid + straw (paper or plastic) it's a cost savings. Or by getting people to buy a new Mickey branded multi-use plastic/silicone straw, means more sales profits for the mouse. Or shifting to the bag method favored by some grocery chains, you bring your own or decline no extra cost, but if you need one, its a charge.



The article mentions eliminating the polystyrene cups at WDW as well.

Then what are we gonna drink air? Out of the soda fountains? I’m all for being more eco friendly but that’s a bit much imo

 

[Model3 McQueen]

According to Oceancrusaders.org:

The relevancy of this data in regards to plastic straws is up in the air. But if you want to tackle a real problem, why bother with something so small and annoying? Try collaborating with Musk (Tesla) or whomever and invest in clean air / clean energy. The amount of pollution we breathe in is awful.

 

[homerdance]

From everything I have read, it is just single use straws, which means you can still buy the mickey ear ones for a buck or two and use it your entire trip. It's not like there aren't options to continue to use straws.

 

[DisneyCane]

Love this! It's a start and someone has to start somewhere.

And if your having that much of an issue about your precious straw then maybe it's time to learn how to drink like an adult.

Why do you "love this?" It's a start of what exactly? Please explain to me exactly how plastic straws used and disposed of in the USA are harming the environment. Don't just give platitudes about having less impact on the environment. Quantify it exactly and show me why giving up a modern convenience is worth it. Tell me what it actually means. When I use a straw, what harm is coming from it?

If you think we are somehow running out of landfill space then your concept of land area is greatly flawed. Even if we were, straws make up an insanely tiny percentage of the volume of waste in a landfill.

This whole issue illustrates the greatest problem with the social media society we have become. Somebody comes up with something that "sounds good" and it becomes a trend and de-facto national policy because it's easy to promote in character limited tweets. Nobody who is "for" the issue really knows the details of what they are in favor of. It just "sounds good" and "saves the environment."

 

[monothingie]

So you’re in favor of it just until it effects you...

No. You're in favor of it until it effects you.

**AFFECTS**

Affect is most often used as a verb meaning “to have an impact on,” as in “The tornado barreling towards us will affect our picnic plans.”

Effect is the result of an action, as in those “cause and effect” papers you might write in English class. Your topic could be how your late-night tuba playing (cause) has driven your roommate insane (effect).

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Right. Why stop at straws? Magic Bands are made from plastic, correct?

I agree, get rid of them also.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Im all for cleaning up the environment. I mourn everytime I walk by a poor bird with a straw stuck in its throat.

In think that Disney could go even farther. Ban all plastic and styrofoam cups. You get your water spit directly in your mouth by a camel or tiki.

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

I would love refilling stations throughout. We end up buying a tervis as a souvenir almost every trip, I could easily see us buying a water bottle every trip

It sounds like your intentions are good, but condsider that it would be way more impactful to reuse the same tervis/water bottle repeatedly than to keep buying new ones.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I think everyone who hates this policy should just stop going to WDW. You don't need to waste your money traveling to an entertainment destination that doesn't share your values.

 

[Lets Respect]

How does this fit in with the Ziploc sponsorships????? Literally giving away plastic bags. Oh right they are getting paid for that

 

[monothingie]

Im all for cleaning up the environment. I mourn everytime I walk by a poor bird with a straw stuck in its throat.

In think that Disney could go even farther. Ban all plastic and styrofoam cups. You get your water spit directly in your mouth by a camel or tiki.

I know I'm devastated every time I go into Ohana and see once free shrimp, chicken, and beef skewered on steel created by heavily polluting steel mills.

Think of the children....they don't usually like the skewered shrimp.