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A movement to ban disposable plastic straws is sweeping the US, but disability rights advocates say it presents unacceptable barriers for people with disabilities.Plastic straw bans have been celebrated as a positive and necessary move towards widespread environmental change, but they fail to accommodate people with various disabilities and create the meaningful positive environmental change they claim to prioritize.Straw bans have been framed as a necessary first step toward reducing plastic waste, but a recent report suggests that plastic straws contribute to only .03% of aggregate plastic in the oceans themselves.A recent survey found that nearly half of the plastic waste found in the oceans' largest garbage patch comes from fishing nets, primarily commercial ones. Straw bans have enormous potential to harm the elderly and disabled, and bring additional challenges of potentially fatal food allergies and reduced durability.Many have made the point that plastic conservation efforts have many other starting points that don't target accessibility aides, and that Lonely Whale's straw ban is a symbolic starting point that ignores the reality that a straw ban won't do what legislators say it will.Plastic straws were originally invented as a disability aid to help reclined patients drink easily from cups. They achieved mainstream popularity because the design was superior to existing alternatives for all people.As disability rights advocates have pointed out, all current substitutes fail to meet the same standard of universal design, and many present problems such as being difficult to wash, dangerously unsanitary, conducting heat and cold, and presenting cutting risks.Jae Kim, a straw user, says that without her bendy straws, she can't consume any liquids.Sauder argues that legislators and straw manufacturers should create a truly viable alternative before banning the disposable plastic options that currently serve everyone's needs. Kim wants non-disabled people to think about how their life would look if they needed to go through barriers to drink water.Seattle passed a straw ban legislation that included an exemption for patrons with disabilities, but the exemption was widely criticized for not being strong enough. Seattle Public Utilities issued a statement last week clarifying the new legislation and encouraging businesses to keep a supply of flexible plastic straws available.San Francisco passed straw ban legislation with a disability exemption that allows businesses to make exceptions for people who need them. The legislation is currently being amended to include more specific language around disability access.The legislation introduced in Santa Barbara makes it much harder for businesses to serve customers with disabilities, because it punishes repeat offenders with heavy fines and jail time.Owner of Washington's One Cup Coffee Tonia Hume switched to biodegradable plastic straws after hearing about the impending straw ban. She made sure all locations had bendy straws available at all times.San Francisco's Wrecking Ball Coffee has added plastic bendy straws to their condiment bar in light of the plastic straw ban. The coffee shop requests that patrons use compostable straws unless they need plastic bendy straws.If you live in a place with a straw ban, make sure to keep a stash of plastic bendy straws in your business for people with disabilities, and contact your legislators to fight for a disability accommodation mandate rather than just an exemption.Seattle Disability Commission chair Khazm Kogita asks participants to consider their environmental impact and whether their actions or decisions hinder other people's independence.Coffee shops are unique spaces where people congregate to challenge the status quo, so listen to people with disabilities when they raise issues.