Plastic straws to be banned in the UK from April 2020

Chloe_Alumni

This certainly is not the first time we have seen the controversial topic of plastic straws in the media. However, today it has been announced that plastic straws and drink stirrers, and cotton buds with plastic stems will be banned from sale and use in England from next April.



An article from The Guardian has reassured disabled readers:

The only exceptions to the new rule will be for people with a medical need or disability, for whom plastic straws and other materials will be available upon request. [...] Registered pharmacies will be permitted to sell plastic straws, over the counter or online, but restaurants, pubs and other catering establishments will not be allowed to display plastic straws or provide them automatically.

Despite things being put in place, this still will make it a lot harder to gain access to plastic straws and potential leave disabled people paying higher prices for the product.

What are your thoughts? Is this enough and will you be affected by the straw ban?

Ami2301

Why are they banning straws? Sorry I've not read about this before

Chloe_Alumni

That's okay @Ami2301! It's to reduce plastic waste.

Ami2301

But straws help people...there are plenty of other plastic items which are not useful which can be banned so why the one thing that actually helps. ?

Adrian_Scope

Hello all, we’ve had a request from a newspaper who are interested in speaking to someone about the impact the straw ban will be having on them. 

Obviously in some cases, the ban will be relaxed, but the journalist is especially keen to get a feel for how important these issues are to some. 

Ideally you'd be available to answer some questions tomorrow afternoon, which is obviously quite short notice, so if you'd be willing to speak to the journalist, please get in touch with Bernie (pressoffice@scope.org.uk) and she'll be happy to brief you on what'll be involved.

fab66

I do not use a drinking cup but we had paper straws when I was younger and that decomposes so should I believe are biodegradable. So, what’s the fuss.
I’m sure if kids are that fussy now then it would help to deter them drink less fizz or oversugared milkshakes.
i make my own and whizz the fruit up too with skimmed milk put them in a drink cup in fridge to stay nice and cold.

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @fab66, some people's disability causes the muscles in their mouth to not work properly or do not have the ability to hold a cup. As a result, using a plastic straw can enable then to drink independently and safely. Alternatives, like a paper straw, can be harder to use as they don't hold the shape. Hope this helps

poppy123456

Paper straws are nothing more than extremely annoying because they don't hold their shape long enough to drink your drink. Thank fully i don't have a disability that means i need to use a straw but for those that do i can only imagine it will become a complete nightmare.

DavidJ

Whoa whoa folks .
Its like every other ban . I too am disabled and have problems drinking ,but rather than get angry I stopped using plastic straws after seeing a film of that poor turtle with a plastic straw up its nose !!! That couldve been one of mine ! and now I have a supply of paper ones . True they don’t last long but that’s the idea !! They biodegrade !!
As a disabled person I went and bought from a Motability/Disabilty shop shop a drinking vessel with a plastic straw attached . It’s washable and reusable hundreds of times .
Also I am at the age where once apon  a time there wasn’t such a thing as a plastic straw .
So I have adapted :-Paper straws for grandkids and a reusable plastic one for me .
Still saving the planet one straw at a time 
So we aren’t doomed guys and gals we just adapt 
We can still buy what is best for us to use especially if you use the correct shop. As for drinking outside ,easy .I take my own straw . .
Have a great weekend .

DavidJ

PS There are metal straws available too .A friend uses them (carefully) for warm liquids like soup .

worried33

This has got out of hand, there is much worse things than plastic, and paper straw are just aweful.  My advice to everyone is just stock up on them and do it soon as prices will go up closer to the date, I already take a straw with me to mcdonalds, since they already stopped using them.

Plastic bags no longer supplied by asda on deliveries now as well, when you disabled its a nightmare.

Also paper straws not only are weaker but you can taste the paper and its disgusting.

Chloe_Alumni

@worried33, I do exactly the same!! Just casually stockpiling plastic straws!! 

silverwing33

Not to mention that the video with the turtles - that was industrial plastic waste, not household waste. 

Secondly, its true we had paper straws before plastic, but guess why plastic replace them?! 

Because theyre a choking hazard! 

This was advertised a lot during that time to get people to use plastic straws and not paper. 

And thirdly, this whole thing about it being more 'environmentally friendly'?! Is woefully untrue, paper straws are WORSE for the environment. Because yes they break down faster, BUT they also have quite a lot of bleaches and harsh chemicals that breaks down in the earth and can upset that eco balance of that area. Leading to less plants growing, more water ways growing toxic algae, and animals getting sicker. 

What this ban really came down to, was greed. Companies trying to get their customers to see them as 'good guys who want to help nature'. When actually they really dont!