Straw ban compromise

"For about a year or two cities have been slowly banning single use plastic straws to reduce the environmental impact. hey whine about how all plastics are harming marine life and need to be banned immediately.No phasing out, just banned, thanks to Mayor DiBlasio, New York City is leading the way along with Berkley and Oakland in California. Ironically in San Francisco it's easier to get drugs than it is to get a plastic straw. Monmouth Beach in my home state of New Jersey are following the lead. Guess I;m not going to Monmouth Beach any time soon.  If Cape May tries to issue a  citywide straw ban you bet I will be right there to protest it!!!

Big companies like Starbucks and the ice cream giant Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream have "gone green" with their paper straws!! Some have even stopped giving out straws completely you need to ask for  just a paper straw and then you are looked at like you just asked for drugs.  Well if plastic straws are worse than drugs, I'm addicted! I shouldn't feel guilty for asking for something I need to drink without spilling it all over myself. 

 Like all bans there are unintended consequences, especially for people with disabilities like me who use plastic straws to drink. I, along with other folks, have tried the paper straws, they do break down and I wound up using three paper straws for one drink because they do break down. Actually they are getting better but they still have a long way to becoming usable. I also tend to bite on my straws and unlike their plastic counterparts, they can't be bent back into place too easily. They rip and actually cause a bigger mess than plastic straws.  Bars like a quick cleanup so the wet paper straws cause such a mess and are harder to wipe off a table or the bar. Of course all] the inconveniences mean nothing to people trying to save the planet. They blindly follow junk science. Straws make up a fraction of the waste. It always amazes me Starbucks fills a cup only to put on a plastic lid and then expect people to use paper straws  I consider  it a trade off because a large people with disabilities use public transportation anyway, their carbon footprint is a fraction of those who drive care.  There is a compromise here, give people the choice.  Start with issuing paper straws but then give people an option to switch to plastic. Also a majority of plastic straw users don't have a problem with reusing the same straw for ;multiple drinks, especially if it hey're drinking the same beverage. I have done this year before a  plastic straw ban was even on the radar

I have actually started to take some mental notes on how restaurants around  Cape May deal with this issue. The Ugly Mug and Delany's still use plastic straws. The breweries have switched to paper, some straws are stronger. I went into the new Exit Zero down the street and the straw the use aren't paper, but the y are biodegradable and I can use them in multiple drinks, Harry's has paper straws and I had a few Pina  Colodas  a nd asked for a new straw every drink. I order bottled beer instead the next time I went.  Of course the VFW next door still hjas the classic bendy straws just like the ones I use at home. I think I'll start carrying my own disposable straws around on my scooter. Just hope I won't see the day you can't be arrested for drugs but can be arrested for using a plastic straw in public!!