By Scott Wieser
To write this letter, I used a headstick (a long curved pointer attached to a headpiece) to type. And to drink, I use a plastic straw.
When I’m out to eat or at work, I usually bring my own. Able-bodied people could, too. But if an able-bodied person forgets theirs, they can still drink from a cup. If I’m at a restaurant and can’t find mine, I’m out of luck. Before the able-bodied world fixed on straws as their feel-good cause, the fact that restaurants provided them was an accommodation disabled people could count on. I think providing straws could fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act, because businesses need to make reasonable accommodations, but in this climate the ADA offers little security. It’s a step backward for people with disabilities already living under a president known for his barely-ADA-compliant buildings.
I understand that there may be some alternatives to the plastic bendy straw, which for so many of us is a literal lifesaver, but these alternatives are too expensive to be widely accessible, and/or don’t meet our needs. And it’s frustrating to feel like the welfare of a turtle is prioritized over the welfare of me and many of my peers. It’s not that able-bodied people don’t care about us, but that they just don’t know. We have had almost no input to the conversation, even though it’s an issue which affects our lives more drastically than those with the loudest voices. A technology we depend on for life is now subject to faddish demonization. It’s frankly pretty alarming.
I work at Systems Unlimited as data entry staff, and daily see the way that plastic straws save our lives. Here are some pictures of my friends and peers who’d like to give face to the other side of this debate. Photos by Mary Helen Kennerly
Yours is an important and valid argument. It shouldn’t be a choice between you or a turtle. When I was a kid we had paper bendy straws. They worked just like the plastic ones do, but were biodegradable (hence not turtle killers). We need to pressure the industry to go back to paper. (This is true for much more than straws.)
Paper straws do not work. They get soggy when it takes you a long time to drink. And some people have sensory issues. When the plastic straw is all you’ve used for many years it’s hard to ask someone to change
It is important to note that no straws in Iowa City are killing turtles in the ocean. We do not dump our garbage in the ocean. If we are going to ban straws because they are plastic, then we need to ban a lot more than straws. No trash should be dumped in the ocean, but folks in Iowa can’t really address that matter by banning straws. They say that straws can’t be recycled, by they have been taking straws from my recycle bin (in Iowa City), so…
…but they have been…
LV, you should have a way to edit comments. Thanks!
we are talking about banning PLASTIC straws here people… get rid of them!! who cares… the restaurants can start buying the more expensive paper ones and then only give them out when people ask… I don’t know why everyone has to make a big deal.
Paper straws are not very durable and disintegrate pretty easily…even the ones that are thick and deemed “more durable”.
Trent, you would have to help a disabled person to eat and drink to truly understand why a PAPER straw doesn’t work for them. Paper will shred and collapse because you see, their mouth/lips/tongues do not function the same as a non-disabled person’s does. Scott is my younger brother; I do know and it is a big deal. I do agree with you that restaurants could just give them out when asked, but make them plastic. Jan
indeed jan, paper straws are a choking risk, also, like bioplastics, they can not be used in hot drinks
there are reasons why every single alternative straw is problematic, from allergies for the core product in bio=plastics to injury rish and allergies again for metal, glass and bambu , then comes the difficulty in cleaning them (add silicone) which is a total no no for immuno-repressed peeps and people with spoons issues
and i would rather not have a gate keeper between the disabled person and their straws…. how about a selection of straws, clearly labelled, (seaweed, corn bioplastics, paper, and plastic)so that no waiter feels obliged to disability police (yes, that happens to people w less visible disabilities, and no, they are not obliged to bring their medical files so a waiter can decide if they are disabled enough to use a straw)
people have already been shamed for asking for a straw or flatly refused one
so no gate keepers, straws on the counter and the ableds can be sensible and not pick the plastic ones
ps, the article was awesome, give your brother a hug from somebody in brussels, belgium
To Monique, thank you for the comment. I’ll make sure Scott sees this. I agree, no gatekeepers.
Paper straws aren’t always an option for people with disabilies. I’m am the guardian of one of the folks pictured above and her muscle tone would not allow her to use a paper straw. Her mouth would be injured by a stiff metal straw. Plastic is the only option for her.
Thanks for your article Scott!
Flexible silicone straws would seem to be a great option for her. They don’t have the sharp edges that a plastic straw sometimes does and they are dishwasher safe. They even have bent straws. Amazon carries them in regular and extra wide varieties.
Lisa,
You don’t get to decide what works for her. She and her caretakers do.
Are you advocating for the ban of other plastics or are you just going after the things that able bodied people find that they can live without? This ban is the most myopic and ableist thing that I’ve heard in a while. It is also pretty selfish when there are plenty of other plastics that are found in our waters
I’ve said this many times. There are plenty of things that would have a greater impact on the environment if banned, but those would affect able-bodied people too. For example, if you want to stay with the animal in question, you know what else is harmful to turtles? Helium balloons. Which, incidentally, are not an absolute necessity for living for *anyone*. This is also something that’s been known for decades. But that would actually require a cultural shift, so no one is pushing for a helium balloon ban. But disposable straws don’t have cultural significance, so the fact that some people actually *need* them is overlooked.
I’m not saying a straw ban should never happen, but we need to come up with a real, actually comparable alternative *first*, not institute a ban and then start looking for ways to fill the holes left behind.
(Source: https://www.fws.gov/news/blog/index.cfm/2015/8/5/Balloons-and-Wildlife-Please-Dont-Release-Your-Balloons)
Lisa, have you ever assisted someone in using a silicone straw? Someone who has cerebal palsy or other varied ability when it comes to muscle control? I do and they don’t work. They collapse on use. Trust that the hundreds of thousands of humans with disability and those that work with them throughout the nation have worked for decades on finding an alternative and there currently isn’t one. It is so frustrating to hear all of the uniformed comments on this page. Read the headline, if your comment doesn’t focus on people with disability but highlights your worry about plastic then you’re not getting the point.
I’m confident that none of the establishments who are supporting the strawless initiative in Iowa City are going to deny a straw to a person who may need it in order to drink. Just because they are not Iowa City is a wonderful place full of people compassionate enough to care for both the environment and the needs of or neighbors.
Thank you, Scott, for reminding us that the straw ban presents an issue needing a thoughtful resolution, not a rush to judgment.
I understand , we should have more recycling in every state and it should be mandatory !Harsh penalties should be in place for offenders throwing plastic out of moving vehicles and into our camp ,grounds , beaches ect … You want more revenue coming into your state make a law enforce it and charge like if they are DUI ‘s but with no warnings $$$
No kidding…I have no idea why people still think it’s okay to litter plastic.
To Monique, thank you for the comment. I’ll make sure Scott sees this. I agree, no gatekeepers.
Restaurants in Iowa City are doing a wonderful job answering the call to be thoughtful in their use of plastics, especially plastic straws, while at the same time being sensitive to the needs of those with disabilities. Iowa City restaurants that are going “straw-less” all still have plastic straws available for those who need them, but are giving people who don’t need them a choice by not automatically giving them out. I think this is true around the country as well. I applaud our community for meeting the needs of people with disabilities while also helping the environment (plastic in Iowa City does end up in the oceans via water ways and storm drains; and plastic that stays in Iowa pollutes our own rivers, lakes, and ground water).
I agree. Those of us who don’t need straws can easily avoid using them. Restaruants can stop serving them automatically. Plastic straws can easily be made available for those who need or really want them. Any small thing we can do to save our environment can be helpful.
Restaurants and other places open to the public tend to be too relaxed with straw use and hand them out like candy at parades. Maybe suggesting that they cut down on how many straws they purchase when going through inventory and only give them to patrons on a needs basis. Straws are but a trifle to some of the larger sources of plastic waste, but everything still adds up. Maybe not an outright ban on straws, but suggesting that places make limited purchases of straws?
Given that Iowa City is a more ecologically mindful community and that many people with disabilities are part of programs that offer supports, is there a possibility that these agencies can do a cost analysis comparing single use plastic straws vs reusable straws? One notion is that agencies/organizations would save MORE money on the long run investing in reusable straws (a set of six stainless steel straws costs 7.50 on Amazon + free shipping) than using disposable ones.
Hi Ariane, unless I misunderstood it appears you are advocating the use of reusable straws as a cost savings instead of using the single-use plastic straws. If that is true, you have missed the point of Scott’s article and several of the comments above written by persons who assist the disabled. In their case, a single-use plastic straw is their only option at this point in time.
Economics and able-bodied “feel-good movements” shouldn’t always win over the consideration of an entire group of citizens who already have enough inconvenience in their lives. For a moment, imagine that you have to wait on someone to help you get out of bed, bathe, brush your teeth, fix your hair, feed you, take you to work, just to mention a few things. Now you can’t even drink from a plastic straw because it might save some money, or a fish or a turtle. Let’s save some dignity for our physically disabled humans instead for once.
I see a bunch of privileged folks in here not listening to disabled folks and supporting legislation they don’t actually agree with.
There’s a Twitter thread on the “Shirley Exception” that you should all read because I think it applies here.
Basically, abled folks are saying that restaurants shouldn’t have straws available at all because People Will Take Advantage. When it is pointed out that disabled people won’t be able to drink otherwise, they say that no one is talking about legitimate cases and surely there will be an exception. However, a ban on plastic straws would be unilaterally applied and it will hurt disabled people.
To all the able bodied people here, I implore you to listen to yourselves. Disabled people are speaking up for their right to live and be able to drink things. Shut up and listen to them. They need those exceptions in writing, but many won’t support that because they come back to People Will Take Advantage.
This is about the right to live. The moment someone comes up with an alternative to plastic straws that actually works, I’m sure it will be used with joy. Until then, this is what works and you don’t get to decide who gets to live and who doesn’t.
Link to Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/alexandraerin/status/1004401076777504769?s=21
ooooh, alexandra erin is such a gem on twitter, thank you for that thread you linked to, i had previously missed it although i follow her… and yes, imminently applicable to the #StrawBan and its #CasualEugenics