The disabled community is pushing back on Starbucks’ decision to ditch plastic straws and replace them with sippy cup-like plastic tops, claiming that straws are the only way for some disabled individuals to consume food and drink. "Plastic straws are an accessible way for people with certain disabilities to consume food and drinks, and it seems the blanket bans are not taking into account that they need straws and also that plastic straw replacements are not accessible to people,” Katherine Carroll, a policy analyst at the Center for Disability Rights, told Time magazine. Advocates for the disabled community say Starbucks could have opted for straws made from biodegradable paper, or ones made from metal that could be reused when cleaned. But even then, sometimes those options may not be suitable for people with certain disabilities, according to founder of the One in Five disabled rights campaign Jamie Szymkowiak. On another note, Reason reports that the alternative plastic lids Starbucks is planning to switch to will be made out of more plastic than the straws and previous lids combined. In an analysis, Christian Britschgi found that cold drinks include 3.23 to 3.55 grams of plastic products in their lids and straws combined, while the new nitro lids will weigh 3.55 to 4.11 grams depending on the size ordered.
The coffee chain’s decision to stop using plastic straws globally by 2020 and replace them with "sippy-cup" tops could result in the company using more plastic, according to new research. The analysis indicates that whereas cold drinks use 3.23-3.55g of plastic in lids and straws combined, the new nitro lids will contain between 3.55g and 4.11g of plastic. Disability rights campaigners have also claimed that straws are the only ways for some individuals to consume food and drink. The campaigners argue that Starbucks should have chosen to replace plastic straws with alternatives made from biodegradable paper or reusable metal.